Rankings

11th Coaches Poll    10/1/07

Blitzing Bearcats prove to be best in district for now

Anderson County’s Sammy Isaacs (9) and Western Hills’ Josh Replogle (3) battle for possession during the first half of last Tuesday’s match, won by Anderson. Isaacs scored quickly in that contest and later had three goals in a game at Owen County.

By John Herndon

Best in district show.

At least for now Anderson County is.

The Bearcats clinched the top seed in the boys’ 25th District soccer tournament with wins over district foes Western Hills and Owen County last week. It is believed to be the first time the Bearcats, now 13-3 on the year and 4-1 in district play, have entered tournament play at the top of the pack.

Anderson received a bye and will play either Frankfort or Franklin County in the tourney semifinals.

The tournament is set to begin Monday, Oct. 8, at Woodford County High School.

Anderson needed both wins to mathematically clinch. While it was assumed the win over Western Hills was all the Bearcats needed, they were still in a position where a slipup at Owen could have sent the top seed slipping through their fingers.

“We are very excited about the No. 1 seed,” said Anderson assistant coach Gabe Uebel.

Anderson County 3, Western Hills 0

Anderson took a huge step toward the district’s top seed with a hard fought 2-1 win over visiting Western Hills last Tuesday night.

The Bearcats pounded away at the Wolverine defense but it took Ethan Collins’ goal with 19:20 to play for Anderson to latch onto the coveted top seed.

Earning the top status was anything but easy for the Bearcats against a Western Hills team that had not lost a district game coming in.

Twice in the final six minutes of the first half, Anderson’s Sean Burford just missed the net, hitting the crossbar on his first shot, then just missing high on his second.

Midway through the second half, Burford had another great look but Western Hills goalkeeper John Carpenter made a save to thwart what would have been a tie-breaker. Then, just 36 seconds after Collins scored, Burford again had a great look but grazed an upright.

It was that kind of night for Anderson, which dominated possession but had little to show for it over the final 79 minutes.

“We are coming together in the midfield,” Anderson assistant coach Gabe Uebel said of the Bearcats’ domination.

But the Bearcats knew they could score from the outset when Sammy Isaacs got free for a goal before the crowd was able to get settled in. Isaacs’ goal came inside the first 30 seconds. Isaacs’ quick score seemed to energize the Bearcats.

“He really fired the team up and started building the steam for the win,” said Uebel.

Despite Anderson being able to control tempo and ball movement, the Bearcats were unable to extend the lead, then saw Western Hills convert a huge break into a game-tying goal.

With 7:17 to go in the first half, a Western Hills shot bounded off Anderson goalie Andrew Livingston right to Wolverine David Liebman, who directed the ball to the net before Livingston could recover.

While Western Hills fought valiantly, the Wolverines did not have another serious scoring threat until Livingston made a nice stop in the 78th minute. Livingston recorded his sixth shutout in 14 games. “He played well,” Uebel said.

Anderson County 6,

Owen County 0

Owen County “gave it all they had and played really hard,” Uebel said.

But it was not enough to overcome the highly regarded Bearcats Thursday at Owenton.

Sammy Isaacs turned in a hat-trick for the Bearcats, scoring three goals, and Sean Burford, Jordan Denney and Brian Fleck each scored one.

Anderson dominated the developing Rebels, taking 41 shots to Owen’s one.

Anderson goalie Andrew Livingston recorded his seventh shutout of the season.

In clinching the district’s top seed, Anderson overcame an inexplicable loss to Frankfort on Sept.1 to defeat all other district foes. The Bearcats clinched with Thursday’s win at Owen County.

Anderson’s worst-case scenario would be a first place tie with Woodford County, which still has to play Franklin County in a regular season game Thursday, Sept. 27. If they finish tied, Anderson wins the tie-breaker because of the Bearcats 3-0 win Sept. 4.

Senior Day Saturday

Anderson returns to action Wednesday, Sept. 26 when the Bearcats travel to Danville to take on the 15th-ranked Admirals. Danville was 11-3-1 through Saturday’s games.

Saturday, the Bearcats will say goodbye to a senior class, called by many the best to ever play at Anderson.

Seniors Sean Burford, Ethan Collins, Jordan Denney, Netanel Gonzalez, Jon Guzicki, Sammy Isaacs, Andrew Livingston, T.J. Tackett and Josh Yeaste will be honored in a pre-game ceremony.

The current seniors have made the regional tournament twice and have given the Bearcats their first position in the statewide coaches’ poll. Anderson will play Covington Holy Cross, a team that has struggled against a rugged schedule.

Holy Cross has not won since beating Mason County on Sept. 6, but has tied three matches in that time span.

BEARCATS IN ACTION!