NEWS RELEASE

Coach Brent Beauman wasn’t sure how his Danville boys’ soccer team would rebound from their first loss of the season Tuesday at Madison Southern. The early indications in their pre-game warm-up Thursday at East Jessamine were not good.

“We were walking around like our puppy died,” Beauman said.

Once the opening whistle blew, the Ads responded positively.

Goal-scoring opportunities for Danville abounded throughout both halves. While they only capitalized on one of them, it was enough to hold on for a 1-0 victory against the Jaguars. The lone goal of the game came from a hustle play by Henry Pennington to maintain possession so that Carter Dilbeck could find Ashton Nash who found the back of the net. The goal, which came a couple minutes before the half, brought Nash’s tally on the season to 10.

East Jessamine coach Jarod Rocco took exception to his Jaguars getting outworked and implored his team at the break to bring the fight in the second half. The elevated temperature led to a brief shoving match that ended with a yellow card for each team. Those wouldn’t be the only ones, as four more yellows were shown before the game ended.

The Ads (5-1) continued to earn the lion’s share of the chances. Notably, Nash used his speed to find lots of space down the right wing and served up several tempting crosses to his teammates. Abel Goodwin then slotted out wide on the right to do much the same, and Sam Finke produced a couple similar efforts down the left seeking to pick out central players Justin Flores and Iain McAlister. However, keeper Tannar Nally made some quality saves and the rest of the East defense held firm in refusing to concede a second.

The Jaguars were not without chances of their own as they picked their moments to spring the counter attack. The Ads were bailed out by some timely saves from Grayson Nagorka to keep their fourth clean sheet of the season.

While the Ads have relied on defense to secure a couple close wins, they will surely be looking for a little more offensive punch as they venture deeper into their region and district schedule, their coach said.

“I like how we can create,” Beauman said. “We’re trying to create. We’re just missing that final pass, that little bit of execution.”

The All “A” Classic and Boyle County are on the horizon next week.