The Kosciusko boys soccer season came to an end with a 4-1 loss to Caledonia in the opening round of the MHSAA 4A playoffs. Kosciusko qualified for the tournament by finishing third in Region 4-4A, but had to go on the road against the runnerup in 2-4A.
“It wasn't a bad game,” said coach Greg Cooper. “It was just one of those when we made a few mistakes, and they were able to capitalize on them.”
The Whippets took a 1-0 lead midway through the first half on a fluke goal. A throw in by Eli Kemp bounced off a Caledonia player and into the goal.
“It was kind of an own goal,” Cooper said.
Caledonia tied the game with a goal late in the first half. “The game turned in the final five minutes of the first half,” Cooper said. “They started getting good pressure. I always tell my kids we need to be our best the final five minutes (of a half) and the first five minutes.”
But it was in the first five minutes of the second half that Caledonia took the lead on a penalty kick, then added two late goals.
“They were continuing to pressure us, winning the ball from us and getting in behind us.”
The Whippets completed the regular season with a 2-1 victory over Louisville and a 4-2 loss to West Lauderdale to finish 6-4 in region play. Newton County won 4-4A with a 10-0 record and West Lauderdale was second at 8-2.
Kosciusko defeated Louisville 7-0 the first time the teams met. The rematch was much tougher.
With the knowledge that his team would have to defeat West Lauderdale by three goals in the next game, Cooper changed the alignment from 3-5-2 to 4-3-3 for the Louisville game. Demarion Gillespie joined Jonathan Gant and Thomas Sims as attackers with the goal of getting better offensive production,
It didn't work against Louisville, with the Whippets falling behind 1-0 at the half. Cooper reverted to 3-5-2 for the second half and Kosciusko scoring twice for the victory.
The goals were scored by Gant and Alexis Hernandez. Kemp and Avery Nicholson had assists.
Gant gave the Whippets an early 1-0 led against West Lauderdale when he headed in a cross from Christian Garcia. But West Lauderdale responded with two goals for a 2-1 half time lead, and stretched the lead to 4-1 before Bryan Sabino scored a late goal for Kosciusko.
“We had some early opportunities that we did not capitalize on,”
The Whippets finished 12-9 overall. “I’m very proud of them. Getting back to the playoffs was a goal of theirs,” Cooper said.
Kosciusko will graduate six seniors. “But there is a good group of kids coming back. A big class of juniors.”
Kosciusko will move to 3-4A in all sports for the school year beginning in the fall. Other teams in the region will be Caledonia, Houston, Louisville and Greenwood. Greenwood does not field soccer teams so it will be a four-time region for the sport.
Girls
The Lady Whippets did not qualify for the qualify for playoffs, finishing fifth in 4-4A with a 3-7 record (7-12-1 overall). The season ended with a 7-0 victory over Louisville and a 10-0 loss to West Lauderdale.
Presley Fulgham had two goals against Louisville, Raven Pernell, Gracie Williams, Reid Hutchinson, and Kaylee Lewis one each, and there was an own goal. Alexandra West had an assist.
Kosciusko outscored Louisville 17-0 in two games.
The West Lauderdale game was played on a sloppy field at Collinsville, the result of rain. “We couldn’t do anything right,” Cooper said. “It (field conditions) didn’t seem to affect their girls at all, but it did affect us. We did not have a good showing.”
Cooper said the season was disappointing. “It definitely did not go the way we wanted it to go. We had high expectations.”
With the graduation of seven seniors and return of only two juniors, Kosciusko will be a young team next year.
West Lauderdale won the region with a 10-0 record and 19-2-1 overall. The two losses and the tie were against 6A teams. The Lady Knights lost to Madison Central 2-1 and Oak Grove 4-2 and tied Brandon 1-1.
West Lauderdale dominated region opponents with the 10 wins by a combined score of 89-3. No game was closer than a 4-0 victory over Newton County.
