Harlan County secured the No. 1 seed in next week’s 50th District Soccer Tournament with a 6-1 victory Monday night over rival Middlesboro at the James A. Cawood Elementary School field.
Junior Luther Gross had another big game for the Black Bears. Gross scored three times during the first half and added a fourth tally with just under two minutes remaining in the match to help Harlan County improve its overall record to 7-2.
Sophomore Austin Tye and senior Trevor Farley each scored for the Black Bears, while freshman Mason Howard assisted on two goals.
Middlesboro (4-6 overall) scored its lone goal on a penalty kick by senior Aiden Larew during the 74th minute.
“It feels good,” Harlan County coach Tommy Key said about the win. “Middlesboro is a really good team. Any time you can beat them, whether it’s 1-0 or 6-1, it’s always an accomplishment.
“I just wanted my guys to see what growth we’ve gotten. We lost to (Middlesboro) early in the season. We had freshmen who didn’t quite understand what was going on. They’ve really grown and I am very proud of them.
Since dropping a 4-2 decision at Middlesboro on Sept. 2, the Black Bears have reeled off five consecutive victories — four by shutout — and outscored their opponents, 40-1 over that stretch.
Gross and Tye each scored goals before the match was 15 minutes old Monday. Harlan County freshman goalkeeper Wesley Greene made a clutch save on a penalty kick by Middlesboro senior Brent Thompson during the 18th minute and made nine of his 10 saves during the first half.
Gross took a pass from Tye three minutes after the penalty kick, sprinted through multiple Middlesboro defenders and buried a shot into the lower left corner to make it 3-0.
Just less than four minutes later, Gross beat Middlesboro freshman goalkeeper Elijah Caldwell to the ball and scored his third tally of the match.
“I told everyone at the end of last year that Luther would be the No. 1 player in the region, and I believe that,” Key said. Gross has now tallied 22 goals on the season.
Larew’s penalty kick eluded Greene to his left and made it 4-1. Less than one minute later, Farley scored on a penalty kick for the Black Bears on a shot that found its way into the lower right corner of the net.
Key had high praise for Greene and the entire back line of the Black Bears.
“He was really wanting that shutout, and that was kind of on us for letting him down,” Key said about Greene. “He’s just a good kid. He works hard every day; never complains, never in trouble, and he’s a smart kid. I couldn’t ask for a better goalie, and I’ve got him for three more years.
“I have six, or so, guys who can play on our back line, and they’re smart. What they may lack in athletic ability, they’re just all smart. I don’t have to do much coaching on that, and that makes my job just that much easier.”
Middlesboro coach Jeff Mcclelland noted that his team was missing three players Monday for the match against the Black Bears, but knows that the two teams are on a likely collision course at next week’s district tournament at Knox Central.
“We played iron man soccer tonight. We only had 12 players, and it’s hard to run for 80 minutes.” Mcclelland said. “They tried, and they hustled. We’ve got to fix some stuff and we haven’t been practicing well, but we’re going to see (Harlan County) again and we’re going to play differently the next time we see them. We will, hopefully, have a different team by then.
“Harlan County is a well-coached team and they’re always good. I knew coming in we were going to have a tough game, and we did. It just didn’t go our way, but we’ll be back.
Caldwell was credited with 20 saves for the Yellow Jackets.
Next up for the Black Bears is a game Tuesday at Whitley County, while Middlesboro hosts Knox Central Thursday at Bradner Stadium.