Boys soccer playoffs: Top players and teams heading into district tournaments

Heading into the boys high school soccer postseason, two of the 11th Region’s top teams received unwelcome wake-up calls that signaled the need for a sharper focus in the days ahead..

District tournaments begin Sunday. That means it’s time to win or pack up the locker room.

For Paul Laurence Dunbar (13-2-5), the back-to-back defending state champions, a 2-1 loss to Louisville Trinity at home Thursday on its senior night came despite the Bulldogs controlling much of the action. A stunning three-minute stretch late in the second half turned a 1-0 lead into a head-scratching defeat.

“Obviously, they are mad at themselves. They knew they let that one get away,” Dunbar coach James Wray said. “I said, ‘Remember this feeling,’ because, postseason is here now and we don’t want to feel like this anymore.”

Wray believes his veteran team will rebound. The Bulldogs have earned their three straight trips to the state tournament by sweeping the 43rd District and 11th Region titles each time.

“We’ve kind of been through this before, and we’ve got some seniors who have been through it a couple of times,” Wray said. “I think there’s a little more calm on this team. … I told them to keep their heads up, remember this feeling and then we’ll move forward.”

Frederick Douglass (12-2-3), last year’s 42nd District champs and 11th Region runner-up, took a pair of setbacks to heart this season. First came a disconcerting 4-0 loss at 42nd District rival Henry Clay on Sept. 14, then came a 1-0 home loss to Pennsylvania’s Cathedral Prep on Sept. 23. The Broncos hadn’t lost on The Farm in two years.

“We kind of used that as fuel to finish our season,” senior midfielder Cooper Ranvier said after Douglass rebounded with a 3-2 win over No. 1 St. Xavier on Tuesday. “I think we kind of showed that right here.”

The loss to Henry Clay was both humbling and helpful, Douglass coach Omar Shalash said.

“Henry Clay’s a special team. What we did after that is start to refocus on what we have to figure out,” Shalash said. “Even though we took a 4-0 loss, when we walked out we grew that night. We knew we were going to get better.”

The road ahead in the 42nd and 43rd district tournaments won’t be easy for anyone. Six Lexington teams rank in the top 25 of the latest Maher Rankings released last week — No. 2 Dunbar, No. 6 Lafayette, No. 8 Douglass, No. 10 Henry Clay, No. 13 Bryan Station and No. 15 Tates Creek.

Here are some of the top teams, players and storylines heading into district play.

Last ride for Douglass head coach

Omar Shalash was named boys head soccer coach at Douglass several months before the school opened in 2017. He offered a bold vision for his program that few observers took seriously.

In the years since, he’s done what he said he’d do: He’s built Douglass into a team that can stand toe-to-toe with the blue bloods of Kentucky high school soccer, like St. Xavier, Dunbar and Henry Clay.

The proof came Tuesday when Douglass upset No. 1 St. X, the 15-time state champions, 3-2 in the final home game of Shalash’s run as head coach. Shalash and his wife are starting a family and he’s decided to step away from coaching, at least for now.

Last year’s 11th Region coach of the year spoke of the impact each of his players through the years have made on the program, including this year’s seniors. They’ve each been significant.

“They get to leave this field with a win against the best soccer program in the state,” Shalash said. “It’s hard, because it’s bittersweet. And what I tell these seniors — you leave, but your legacy stays. And I hope my legacy stays for a long, long time.”

Lexington Catholic proves dangerous

Though Lexington Catholic (7-8-2) might rank lower than most of its 43rd District rivals at No. 33 on the Maher chart, it holds the distinction of besting all but Dunbar this season to earn the district’s No. 2 seed.

The Knights achieved that by defeating Lafayette, Lexington Christian and Tates Creek all in overtime games decided by penalty shootouts with both their starting and backup goalkeepers, juniors Reese Stewart and Dawson Myatt.

Lafayette, the first of LexCath’s PK victims, gets its rematch in Monday’s semifinals at Tates Creek High School.

Henry Clay’s ups and downs

At times, Henry Clay (10-5-3) has looked like world-beaters, like when the Blue Devils trounced Douglass 4-0 and tied Dunbar 1-1 earlier this season.

But in other moments, Henry Clay has struggled and it will enter the postseason on the heels of three straight losses.

“We’re trying to keep this energy going and close out games,” junior forward Marco Messerli said after the win over Douglass. “We’re still yet to play a really complete game.”

But don’t count Henry Clay out. Head coach Jason Behler has entered the postseason with a far worse record than this year’s edition and won the region title. His 2018 squad reached the state finals with a regular season record of 7-8-3.

Top scorers

▪ Chaz Rich, Dunbar, 14; Ryan O’Hara, Dunbar, 13; Luke Wiles, Douglass, 12; Diego Sanchez, Henry Clay, 12; Marco Messerli, Henry Clay, 11; Tomas Castro, Lafayette, 10; Isaac Hopkins, Lexington Christian, 10; Joany “Gio” Chavez, Dunbar, 9; Cooper Ranvier, Douglass, 8; Mwanaume Buhari Kadusi, Bryan Station, 8; Luke Haubenreich, Tates Creek, 8.

Assist leaders

▪ Chavez, Dunbar, 13; Messerli, Henry Clay, 11; Angel Montiel, Lafayette, 8; Kasen Johnston, Dunbar, 7; Hope Iranzi, Bryan Station, 7; Ranvier Douglass, 6; Kadusi, Bryan Station, 6; Haubenreich, Tates Creek, 6; Logan Atkinson, Douglass, 6; Nadeer Duek, Lafayette, 5; Zachary Gentry, Bryan Station, 5; Bruno Montero, Lexington Catholic, 5.

Stingiest defenses

Lafayette and Great Crossing tied for the fewest goals allowed in the 11th Region this season with 12. The Generals have recorded eight shutouts with keepers Mitchell Dalton and Michael Greathouse splitting the workload.

Tates Creek allowed the next fewest with 14 goals against and recorded five shutouts, including a scoreless draw against Douglass on Thursday.

42nd District Boys Soccer Tournament

At Bryan Station

Monday’s semifinal*

8 p.m.: Henry Clay (10-5-3) vs. Scott County (3-13-1)

Tuesday’s semifinal

8 p.m.: Frederick Douglass (13-2-3) vs. Bryan Station (9-5-1)

Wednesday’s championship

8 p.m.: Semifinal winners meet

43rd District Boys Soccer Tournament

At Tates Creek

Sunday’s first round

2 p.m.: Tates Creek (8-5-3) vs. Lexington Christian (8-9-1)

Monday’s semifinals

6 p.m.: Lexington Catholic (7-8-2) vs. Lafayette (12-3-1)

8 p.m.: Tates Creek-LCA winner vs. Paul Laurence Dunbar (13-2-5)

Wednesday’s championship

7 p.m.: Semifinal winners meet

*Sayre’s chose to not participate in district play this season.

Girls soccer playoffs: Top players and teams heading into district tournaments