PETAL – The Petal boys are looking to finish the 2024 half of the high school soccer season without a blemish on their record.
The Panthers remained undefeated with a grinding 2-0 victory over Oak Grove on Friday night in Region 3-7A action at the Petal Soccer and Track Complex.
Petal improved to 8-0-2 overall and 4-0 in region. The Warriors dropped to 4-5-4 and 2-2.
“I think they boys have figured out how to press, no matter what we face, and props to them,” said Petal coach Cole Knoblauch. “They like to fly off the start, and they keep that standard going the whole 80 minutes.”
After a tentative start through the first seven minutes, the Panthers began to exert pressure in the offensive end, getting five shots in a three-minute span, and the last of those found the back of the net for a go-ahead goal.
Senior Mason Thompson sent a corner kick into a crowd in the 18-yard box, the ball bounced onto the foot of freshman Cash Puckett, who fired it in from point-blank range to give Petal a 1-0 lead in the 11th minute of play.
“It just kind of fell to me and I hit it on frame, and it dribbled its way into the net,” said Puckett. “It was a really great ball in from our captain, Mason Thompson. He played it in, and it bounced over a teammate’s head and right to my feet. I just got lucky.”
Although Petal had the lead, the Warriors didn’t back down, and had two good looks on frame in the 17th and 21st minutes, both off the foot of senior Marvin Asmitia.
Oak Grove also kept its composure and tightened up on the defensive end, limiting Petal to just two shots, neither on goal, in the final 20 minutes of the first half.
“Part of it is just what we’re trying to build with these kids,” said Oak Grove coach Julio Martinez. “We’re a young team still, and we’ve been trying to change some of the things we’re doing with our style of play.
“I know we’re going to have some headaches through the season, but I know we’re going the right way. It’s hard to lose. Nobody wants to lose, but it’s not like we couldn’t play with them.”
The Panthers took their 1-0 lead into the halftime break, but the first-half stats reflected the hard-fought nature of the period, as OG had six shots, two on goal, while Petal had seven shots, with two on frame.
“I thought we contained them well, and I think we kept the momentum going our way,” said Knoblauch . “Give (Oak Grove) credit. They can play. They bopped it around us a good bit, but our press maintained the whole time, and we couldn’t be beat in the defensive end.”
Petal kept the momentum in the second half, as the Panthers back line kept the Warriors from maintaining consistent possession, getting in the passing lanes to disrupt the Oak Grove offense.
“That’s what we’ve been working on in practice a lot, not letting any balls in,” said Puckett. “We don’t lose if we don’t let any balls in. That’s our thought process coming into this game.”
The Warriors only had four shots in the second half, and while three were on goal, none were much of a challenge for Petal freshman keeper Henry Haydel.
“It’s a long process, and I think it’s going to pay off later on,” Martinez said. “We’re working hard to teach the kids good soccer skills and raise their level of play. I just hope everybody’s patient and can see the progress we’re making.”
The Panthers, on the other hand, had 10 shots in the second half, but only two on goal. Nevertheless, Petal made its last shot of the night count, when junior Sam Haydel powered in a shot off a pass from Thompson in the 74th minute to ice the win.
“That was a big relief, to get that second goal in,” said Knoblauch. “That comes from our whole team. Our keeper, Henry, has done such a great job of being structured, and making sure that we can keep on creating more chances to relieve that pressure on our back line.”
The Panthers will look to finish their first trip through their region opposition when they travel to Northwest Rankin Tuesday in a showdown between the remaining two unbeaten teams in region play. Oak Grove is at home Tuesday against Brandon.
“I think we did such a good job tonight, that we’re going into Tuesday night on the road with a lot of confidence,” said Knoblauch. “We’re just excited to see how we do against a top, top team like Northwest Rankin.”
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