After beating Coffee County 2-0 to win the District 9-AAAA Championship on Friday, the Shelbyville Central Golden Eagles season came to a close in a hard-fought Region 5-AAAA semifinal loss against the Brentwood Bruins, 1-0.

After heavy thunderstorms came through Shelbyville about an hour before the scheduled 7:00 p.m. kickoff, game administrators made the decision to move the game to Siegel High School and kick-off at 9:00 p.m. due to standing water at the Eagles’ Nest. 

In a rematch of the 2022 State Tournament matchup, Brentwood started the game immediately on the front foot, dominating possession from the opening kick. The two teams’ strategy were obvious from the get-go: Shelbyville Central would sit back in a low block and look to break on the counter with a ball over the top while Brentwood would hold the lion’s share of possession with their crisp one-touch passing and high-level movement. 

The Bruins, ranked as the number two team in the state according to MaxPreps, did not put a shot on goal until the eighth minute. In normal possession, the Golden Eagles were able to hold their own in front of their goal, setting a high-line and compressing the space in the attacking third with an effective offside trap. Shelbyville kept Brentwood runners offside for the majority of the first half as the flag was raised five times in the first 20 minutes. 

Kolby Themm (3) help fortify SCHS' defense that only conceded one goal Tuesday.

However, it was the giveaways in midfield that hurt the Golden Eagles the most with both of Brentwood’s first two shots-on-goal coming off the Bruins’ winning the ball back in an advantageous position.

Brentwood’s counter-press, led by Louisville signee Jack Boring, was stifling for all 80 minutes, rarely allowing the Golden Eagles’ to break out of their own half. Boring, playing as more of a deep-lying eight, along with Rhodes College signee, Jack Elliot, dominated the midfield. Chase Mattasits, who will be playing at Maryville College in the fall, controlled the visitor’s defense with a high-line, continuously breaking up potential Shelbyville counter-attacks before they were able to begin. 

Daniel Torres (10, blue) fends off L'Ville signee Jack Boring (10, white)

In spite of that, the hosts on paper found a crease in the 18th minute, slipping through forward Emanuel Leyva for a one-on-one against Brentwood goalkeeper Drew Huss. Huss came out to close down at the top of his box, making himself big and coming up with a huge save to keep the game at 0-0. 

This sparked a small stretch for Shelbyville where they were able to maintain some possession and put some pressure on the Brentwood defense. Despite this, the Bruins didn’t allow another shot on goal, and settled back onto the ball shortly thereafter. 

Immediately afterwards, Brentwood’s Jack Doyle got to a bouncing ball first for a one-on-one chance on the left side that was brilliantly saved by freshman Jackson Themm, filling in valiantly for the injured Ben Betzelberger.

Even though the Bruin’s ended the night with roughly 80% possession, the Golden Eagles’ defensive structure began to frustrate the visitors by about the half hour mark. Brentwood adjusted their plan of attack as they started to whip in a few crosses from deep instead of trying to get all the way to the end line for a pull-back ball on the ground. After initially conceding a corner, the Golden Eagles’ resistance was finally broken in the 37th minute after Brentwood recycled possession to the left flank. Ryan Buie found space to deliver a delightful ball into the box that Aiden Wells was able to redirect into the back of the net with an exquisite jumping backheel finish to give the Bruins the 1-0 lead just three minutes before halftime.

It was a backbreaking goal to concede right before the break, and Brentwood did not let up as the second half began. Luke Armistead fired a low shot that was saved by Themm less than 60 seconds in, but this would be one the last times of the night that SCHS conceded a shot-on-goal. The Golden Eagles kept the same defensive game plan as the first half, managing to keep the ball in front of their compressed low block and forcing sloppy long passes by the visitors. 

Unfortunately for Shelbyville, they were unable to break through the disciplined Brentwood backline before the final whistle blew, seeing their season end in the region semifinals, 1-0.

Brentwood improves to 15-1-2 and advances to play Ravenwood in the Region 5-AAAA Championship Game.

The Golden Eagles see their season end as the District 9-AAAA Champions at 10-6-5.