Ashland outmatched by Montgomery Co.

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October 27, 2009

By ROCKY STANLEY The Daily Independent Tue Oct 27, 2009, 12:13 AM EDT

ASHLAND — Montgomery County’s quickness and skill took a toll in the Boys Sub-Section 6 soccer match.

The Indians, ranked as high as ninth in the state this season, darted into the Elite Eight with a 6-0 victory over Ashland on Monday night.

Six different players scored goals as Montgomery County dominated possession and outshot the Tomcats 35-13 at the Ashland Soccer Complex.

“They are very talented,’’ said Tomcats coach Ken Wheeler. “We couldn’t match their pace. They had excellent pace on the ball and could finish.’’

The 12th Region champs ran their record to 16-3-1, including 15 shutouts. The Indians have not allowed a goal in five postseason games.

Fifth-year head coach Nick Pannell, a former assistant coach and player at Montgomery County, said the team ranks with the best in school history.

He couldn’t be anything but pleased with the Indians’ latest performance. The Indians spread the ball around and mounted one attack after another.

“We went and watched Ashland play against Russell,’’ Pennell said of Ashland’s 1-0 win in the 11th Region final. “We knew Ashland would be bigger than us, and more physical. We focused on moving the ball fast. I think that was the difference.’’

Montgomery County advances to play Covington Catholic on Wednesday for the Section 3 championship. CovCath defeated Scott 1-0 in Sub-Section 5.

“We played CovCath this year, but I think Montgomery County was by far our toughest opponent,’’ Wheeler said.

Senior Christian Jauregui, one of the state’s top offensive threats, supplied a goal and assist as the Indians moved out to a 3-0 halftime lead.

“I think number nine (Jauregui) plays on the U-17 national team for Mexico,’’ said Wheeler, who used senior forward Will Skaggs to mark Jauregui in the first half.

Carson Colles, another senior forward, opened the scoring 12 minutes into the contest off an assist from midfielder Xavier Endara.

Ashland goalkeeper Kyle Hacker made several stops, including a diving deflection to keep the score at 1-0. But Jauregui scored with 14:54 left in the half, and then he hit the cross bar with a shot that teammate Tanner Dice headed into the goal to make it 3-0.

Ashland came in banged up, including two starters out of the lineup, but still left an impression on Montgomery County’s coach.

“You can’t take away from their hard work,’’ Pennell said. “Even though they got behind, they played with a lot of energy. That says a lot about their mentality.’’

Hacker stopped a penalty kick in the second half, but relentless Montgomery County added goals from Joe Baker, Alfredo Garcia and Endera.

Wheeler praised his team’s effort and said the loss took nothing away from Ashland’s best tournament run in four years.

“We’ve got heart, and we’ve got pride,’’ he said. “We just ran into a better team tonight.’’

The Tomcats finished 10-7-3, including district and regional titles.

“It’s been a great season,’’ Wheeler said. “We wanted to be district champs and compete for the region. I have nine seniors and you couldn’t ask for better gentlemen.’’

ROCKY STANLEY can be reached at rstanley@dailyindependent.com or (606) 326-2671.

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