JEFFERSONVILLE — The program’s sixth sectional title will have to wait at least another year.
Seymour High Schools’ boys soccer team fell to Jeffersonville 2-1, in overtime, in the first round of sectional play Tuesday at the Woehrle Soccer Complex.
Jeff (6-5-2) scored a goal in the second half, and again in the second overtime, to shock the Owls (12-4).
The loss was the final game for Seymour’s 11 seniors.
[sc:text-divider text-divider-title=”Story continues below gallery” ]Click here to purchase photos from this gallery
"I want the seniors to leave knowing that they have left a legacy that will last a long time," Seymour coach Matt Dennis said. "They did some things that have never been done, and may never be done again. They should be extremely proud."
In a chippy first half, the Owls got the edge right before intermission.
With 41.8 seconds on the clock, senior Payton Reasoner launched a corner kick into the middle of the box. The ball bounced out, and senior Daniel Hartman gained possession at the top of the 18-yard box. Hartman then turned his hips, fired and scored to put the Owls on the board.
Jeff outshout SHS 6-3 in the first half, but the Owls held the lead.
Out of the break, the Red Devils equalized.
With 32:26 on the clock, the Red Devils launched the ball from just inside the midfield line.
Seymour’s goalkeeper and defense pushed forward, and the ball took a high bounce above the group. Off the bounce, forward Jacob Clemens got a head on the ball to push it into the back of the net and tie the game at 1-1.
The game continued to stay physical, with pushing and shoving, as regulation winded down.
With 14:02 on the clock, the Owls’ Tyler Penegar and Red Devils’ Konnor Kimmel were both dealt yellow cards.
Neither side could get one to go for the remainder of regulation, as the teams went into two seven-minute overtimes.
After a scoreless first overtime, the Red Devils got the edge in the second.
With 5:19 on the clock, Clemons flicked a pass off his back heel to teammate Kevin Castro Vega. Vega took the ball, dribbled to just inside the Owls’ 18, and scored on a hard shot to the far post.
While the Owls had chances down the stretch, they weren’t able to find the back of the net.
"We didn’t have the energy, and we didn’t have the focus we needed," Dennis said of the overtimes.
The scoreboard unofficially read that Jeff outshot SHS 17-7 in the game, with Owls keeper Patrick DeBoor recording five saves.
"The message to the underclassmen is that they saw how hard the seniors worked, how skilled they were and their dedication, and they still came out too short in the end for a lot of reasons," Dennis said. "Some (reasons) that we should have overcome and others that were of our own making. Those underclassmen need learn from the upperclassmen, and make sure we work that much harder."
Among the many accomplishments by this year’s group from SHS is going undefeated in Hoosier Hills Conference play. The last time the Owls won the sectional was in 2009.