On Wednesday, Oct. 4, the Gibson Southern boys soccer team played the Raiders of Southridge in the second round of Sectional 31 held at The Fort at Fort Branch Community School. The Titans went on the offensive quickly, scoring a goal. However, the Raiders came back and scored as well. The Titans kept the momentum going and scored three more goals in the first half to make the score 4-1. Senior Lucian Wicker thought the team did well in the first half.
“We came out ready to play and were excited to be there,” Wicker said. “We were playing simple and were able to get a few goals early.”
The Titans held their lead, but the Raiders started to close the gap. Southridge scored four more goals in the second half, while the Titans were held scoreless. Junior Brody Riggs believed that the Raiders had more heart in the second half, which was a key for them.
“They came out of halftime and wanted to win a lot more than we did,” Riggs said. “We also had a couple of changes in our formation. Along with that, after they got their first goal of the half, they had so much momentum, which they used to their advantage.”
This resulted in Raiders scoring four unanswered goals, making the score 5-4 and advancing them to the Sectional championship. This ended the Titans’ season. Co-head coach Adam Miller was happy with the Titans effort and believed the team gave its all.
“I was incredibly proud of the way the team played against Southridge,” Miller said. “They displayed great character and determination as they battled a very physical Raiders team over 80 minutes. They fought until the very end as they created another scoring opportunity in the final second of the game that barely missed.”
When the last second ticked off the clock, both Miller and co-head coach Andrew Dunkle saw a tired and disappointed team.
“As the final whistle blew, and I looked across the field at our team of bloodied and bruised Titans, I could see in their eyes that they gave every ounce of themselves for each other,” Miller said. “Learning to work together and make individual sacrifices for the team is what sports is all about to me, and this team embodied those ideas.”
The Titans were led by junior Brayden Reynolds who had two goals. Also, Riggs, junior Jonah Loveless and sophomore William Redden each scored one goal.
This was Miller’s first season as co-head coach of the Titans, and he was proud of the team’s season. He looks forward to year two of coaching the Titans and reaching their potential.
“Overall, I could not have been happier with my first season at Gibson Southern,” Miller said. “The way the team connected and worked with one another regardless of what class they were in was inspiring. I have coached in the area for 15 years but some of my most cherished memories in the game are from the past four months. I cannot wait to get started on year two and hope the graduating seniors will remain involved with the program as alumni and help us grow the tradition they started.”
The Titans advanced to the Sectional Semifinal by beating the Princeton Tigers 6-2 in the first round of action on Monday, Oct. 2. The Titans were led by Riggs and Redden with two goals each. Reynolds and freshman Jeter Simmons each scored one goal.
