Tribe Outlast 'Toppers on PK's for Big East Conference Title
Two years ago, Wyatt Arrowood stepped up to attempt a penalty kick in Dobyns-Bennett’s state sectional against Knox West. Arrowood missed and the Tribe went on to lose in PKs.
On Wednesday night at Indian Highland Park, Arrowood found some substantial measure of redemption, knocking the decisive penalty kick as D-B defeated Science Hill in a shootout. The 1-1 (6-5) result clinched the Big East Conference title for the Indians and, with it, top seed for the District 1-AAA tournament and the right to host that event. The Tribe prevailed despite playing with 10 men for the majority of the match, and did so in front of a crowd of 300 paying fans – a record for a D-B boys soccer game at Indian Highland Park, according to athletic director Frankie DeBusk.
This marks the first hardware in the Tribe’s debut campaign under Tony Weaver, a longtime assistant coach for the boys who was elevated to the head coaching job late in 2023 after leading the D-B girls to the state tournament. The Indians (10-0-2, 5-0-0) remain undefeated and, barring what would be a major upset this coming Tuesday against West Ridge, are on course to finish the regular season with zero losses.
“It feels pretty nice. It's a good win. It's always a good game between us and Science Hill, though.” Arrowood said.
That rivalry has been tipped in the Indians’ favor as of late. D-B swept its two regular-season meetings with the Hilltoppers (4-7-0, 1-1-0) for the first time since 2021 and has won four straight in the rivalry, five of the past six meetings, and seven of the previous eight.
Despite playing a night earlier at Daniel Boone against a rested Science Hill squad, D-B controlled possession and pace from the outset. That changed in the 30th minute, when Cooper Martin got sent off on a straight red card after a collision with the Hilltoppers’ Junior Serrano. Both players were challenging for the ball and, watching from behind the touchline, the two players appeared to converge on the ball at the same time. The impact sent the significantly smaller Serrano crashing hard to the ground. Following the play, the referee immediately whistled for the clock to stop and reached to assess Martin with a red.
Weaver said the Indians just aimed to reach halftime when they could re-assess: “That was a tough row to hoe but the boys responded. They played hard the entire game, especially the second half.”
Not only that, D-B grabbed the lead in spite of being short handed. That goal came from Eli Wallace off a set piece in the 55th minute. Bryson Broadwater lofted a free kick toward the Science Hill goal. Wallace went unmarked and had an open path to knock in the ball.
“I was left wide open on the back post. Bryson found me and that's about it. I put my foot out and it was just a tap in.” Wallace said.
A jubilant Wallace sprinted all the way back to midfield after the goal, screaming in triumph. It was a special moment for the D-B senior, who returned to the program this year after opting not to play high school soccer as a sophomore or junior.
“I actually wasn't going to at first but I was like, it's my senior year, I've got nothing left to do in high school. Might as well go out there and see what I can do,” Wallace said.
Weaver described Wallace as “just a good solid, wants to win every game kind of player. As a coach those are the kind of players you want.”
Science Hill struck back in the 76th minute, capitalizing on a breakdown by the D-B defense. Lucas Trull got the equalizing goal with Palmer Kind delivering the assist.
Still, following the shootout, Hilltoppers coach David Strickland was disappointed with the lack of chances his team generated while having a manpower advantage for the majority of the fixture. A shorthanded D-B squad outshot Science Hill 19-10, with 12 shots on target for the Tribe compared to eight for the ’Toppers.
“Maybe our fight was stronger but still overall it's just not good enough. You play up a man for that long and you don't create hardly any chances? That's 100% on us for not getting it done,” Strickland said.
Science Hill also had the advantage in the shootout. The ’Toppers shot first and had a 3-1 advantage at one juncture after Yassin Kassiby converted his chance. D-B stayed alive after Andy Cruz made his shot and keeper Ethan Cline repelled Trull’s potential game winner, then Cooper McLain knocked in his PK to forge a 3-3 tie and force sudden death.
Cline, who also stopped a penalty kick in Tuesday’s 3-0 win at Daniel Boone, admitted he got a little bit of intel from D-B co-captain Bryson Broadwater, a teammate of Trull during travel ball.
“He said, [Trull] has a long run up. He tries to freak you out by going fast then slow. Then he tries to get chippy with it and just chip you,” Cline recounted, noting Broadwater “went over it a couple of times, actually. Right before the game, he said, if we ever get to it, remember…”
After Samuel Moody and Tingen Hatcher made their PKs for Science Hill, and D-B responded each time with Brogan McGhee and Gavin Farmer converting, the decision came in the third round of sudden death. Science Hill’s attempt hit the crossbar, which brought Wallace sprinting away from the centerline to celebrate with Cline.
Just one problem… the shootout was not over.
Wallace said he let his excitement get the better of him: “I forgot we had the second kick.”
Arrowood certainly remembered. Also a co-captain, he admitted he declined being part of the initial five players to take PKs during the shootout because of the bad memories from that sectional match with West two years ago. And when he walked up to take his kick on Tuesday night, those memories came flooding back.
“That was exactly what was going through my mind,” Arrowood said. “Then again you've just got to stick with your spot and go with it.”
That's a plan that worked, and sparked a huge celebration by the D-B side.
“It feels amazing,” Cline said.
Strickland said he felt the match was right there for the taking when Science Hill had the lead in the shootout.
“You should be able to bury it and we didn't get it done. Those are moments, as we talked [as a team] over there, going home, reflect. Reflect on the moments that we did not take care of and see them and visualize them, so that when we see them again, we take care of them. Get up in the morning, rise again and play tomorrow.
“You have to be brave to stand up and take a penalty like that because you know there's risk involved,” Strickland added regarding the shootout. “Some of them feel like, oh, it's my fault. No, we played a whole match. You were just brave enough to step in there.
The odds are strong that these two teams will meet at least once more in the finals of the district tournament, and then possibly again in the region finals. At least, that has been the case in each of the past two seasons.
On Wednesday night at Indian Highland Park, Arrowood found some substantial measure of redemption, knocking the decisive penalty kick as D-B defeated Science Hill in a shootout. The 1-1 (6-5) result clinched the Big East Conference title for the Indians and, with it, top seed for the District 1-AAA tournament and the right to host that event. The Tribe prevailed despite playing with 10 men for the majority of the match, and did so in front of a crowd of 300 paying fans – a record for a D-B boys soccer game at Indian Highland Park, according to athletic director Frankie DeBusk.
This marks the first hardware in the Tribe’s debut campaign under Tony Weaver, a longtime assistant coach for the boys who was elevated to the head coaching job late in 2023 after leading the D-B girls to the state tournament. The Indians (10-0-2, 5-0-0) remain undefeated and, barring what would be a major upset this coming Tuesday against West Ridge, are on course to finish the regular season with zero losses.
“It feels pretty nice. It's a good win. It's always a good game between us and Science Hill, though.” Arrowood said.
That rivalry has been tipped in the Indians’ favor as of late. D-B swept its two regular-season meetings with the Hilltoppers (4-7-0, 1-1-0) for the first time since 2021 and has won four straight in the rivalry, five of the past six meetings, and seven of the previous eight.
Despite playing a night earlier at Daniel Boone against a rested Science Hill squad, D-B controlled possession and pace from the outset. That changed in the 30th minute, when Cooper Martin got sent off on a straight red card after a collision with the Hilltoppers’ Junior Serrano. Both players were challenging for the ball and, watching from behind the touchline, the two players appeared to converge on the ball at the same time. The impact sent the significantly smaller Serrano crashing hard to the ground. Following the play, the referee immediately whistled for the clock to stop and reached to assess Martin with a red.
Weaver said the Indians just aimed to reach halftime when they could re-assess: “That was a tough row to hoe but the boys responded. They played hard the entire game, especially the second half.”
Not only that, D-B grabbed the lead in spite of being short handed. That goal came from Eli Wallace off a set piece in the 55th minute. Bryson Broadwater lofted a free kick toward the Science Hill goal. Wallace went unmarked and had an open path to knock in the ball.
“I was left wide open on the back post. Bryson found me and that's about it. I put my foot out and it was just a tap in.” Wallace said.
A jubilant Wallace sprinted all the way back to midfield after the goal, screaming in triumph. It was a special moment for the D-B senior, who returned to the program this year after opting not to play high school soccer as a sophomore or junior.
“I actually wasn't going to at first but I was like, it's my senior year, I've got nothing left to do in high school. Might as well go out there and see what I can do,” Wallace said.
Weaver described Wallace as “just a good solid, wants to win every game kind of player. As a coach those are the kind of players you want.”
Science Hill struck back in the 76th minute, capitalizing on a breakdown by the D-B defense. Lucas Trull got the equalizing goal with Palmer Kind delivering the assist.
Still, following the shootout, Hilltoppers coach David Strickland was disappointed with the lack of chances his team generated while having a manpower advantage for the majority of the fixture. A shorthanded D-B squad outshot Science Hill 19-10, with 12 shots on target for the Tribe compared to eight for the ’Toppers.
“Maybe our fight was stronger but still overall it's just not good enough. You play up a man for that long and you don't create hardly any chances? That's 100% on us for not getting it done,” Strickland said.
Science Hill also had the advantage in the shootout. The ’Toppers shot first and had a 3-1 advantage at one juncture after Yassin Kassiby converted his chance. D-B stayed alive after Andy Cruz made his shot and keeper Ethan Cline repelled Trull’s potential game winner, then Cooper McLain knocked in his PK to forge a 3-3 tie and force sudden death.
Cline, who also stopped a penalty kick in Tuesday’s 3-0 win at Daniel Boone, admitted he got a little bit of intel from D-B co-captain Bryson Broadwater, a teammate of Trull during travel ball.
“He said, [Trull] has a long run up. He tries to freak you out by going fast then slow. Then he tries to get chippy with it and just chip you,” Cline recounted, noting Broadwater “went over it a couple of times, actually. Right before the game, he said, if we ever get to it, remember…”
After Samuel Moody and Tingen Hatcher made their PKs for Science Hill, and D-B responded each time with Brogan McGhee and Gavin Farmer converting, the decision came in the third round of sudden death. Science Hill’s attempt hit the crossbar, which brought Wallace sprinting away from the centerline to celebrate with Cline.
Just one problem… the shootout was not over.
Wallace said he let his excitement get the better of him: “I forgot we had the second kick.”
Arrowood certainly remembered. Also a co-captain, he admitted he declined being part of the initial five players to take PKs during the shootout because of the bad memories from that sectional match with West two years ago. And when he walked up to take his kick on Tuesday night, those memories came flooding back.
“That was exactly what was going through my mind,” Arrowood said. “Then again you've just got to stick with your spot and go with it.”
That's a plan that worked, and sparked a huge celebration by the D-B side.
“It feels amazing,” Cline said.
Strickland said he felt the match was right there for the taking when Science Hill had the lead in the shootout.
“You should be able to bury it and we didn't get it done. Those are moments, as we talked [as a team] over there, going home, reflect. Reflect on the moments that we did not take care of and see them and visualize them, so that when we see them again, we take care of them. Get up in the morning, rise again and play tomorrow.
“You have to be brave to stand up and take a penalty like that because you know there's risk involved,” Strickland added regarding the shootout. “Some of them feel like, oh, it's my fault. No, we played a whole match. You were just brave enough to step in there.
The odds are strong that these two teams will meet at least once more in the finals of the district tournament, and then possibly again in the region finals. At least, that has been the case in each of the past two seasons.
VIDEO GALLERY
