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“It’s always nice to hit a nice streak going into the postseason,” said longtime Kenton Ridge coach Chris Slagle. “You want to be able to put things together and play well and I think we’re doing that.”
The Cougars won their first two matches of the season, but struggled in their next five, going 0-4-1 without scoring a goal.
“We had some injuries during that time, nagging injuries to some key players, but they’ve worked through it,” said Slagle, who is in his 25th season at Kenton Ridge. “The boys came together well and got refocused.”
With several starters missing time due to injuries, the Cougars bench played has key role in the streak, he said.
“They got in and really stepped up,” Slagle said. “It propelled practices a bit better and pushed everybody a bit more. Even though these guys may not be as experienced, they really stepped in and sort of pushed the other guys to be better. It’s a good group of kids. They’ve bonded well and they don’t really care who scores.”
The Cougars had won seven straight before tying Jonathan Alder on Wednesday night in Plain City. The Pioneers led 1-0 at the break, but a quick goal by Ahmad Salhieh tied the score. Kenton Ridge had multiple chances to win the match — including two balls bouncing off the crossbar — but couldn’t break through the Pioneers defense.
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“We really stepped it up in the second half,” Slagle said. “We got some motivation with the way we were playing in the first half. We can rebound pretty well, we did that against Northwestern. We were confident we good do that, putting one in early. It’s disappointing to come out of here with a draw, but I really enjoyed the way we were playing.”
With the draw, the Cougars fell behind Bellefontaine (6-1-1) in the CBC Kenton Trail Division. Kenton Ridge is seeking its first conference title since 1999.
The Cougars host Clark County rival Tecumseh on Senior Night at 7:15 p.m. Monday at Richard L. Phillips Field. They’ll need a win against the Arrows and hope either Benjamin Logan or London can knock off the Chieftains in one of their final two division games.
Senior Tristan Slagle leads the Cougars with 10 goals and two assists on the season. Salhieh is second on the team in scoring with seven goals and four assists.
The Cougars are hoping to ride their momentum straight into the postseason. Kenton Ridge last advanced to the district finals in 2016 when the senior class were freshmen, falling to Cincinnati Indian Hill.
The tournament draw will be held Sunday and sectional play begins Oct. 14. Kenton Ridge will likely be one of the top four seeds in Division II.
Slagle has coached his son Tristan and the majority of the senior class since they played youth soccer, he said. He hopes they can make another deep tournament run.
“Hopefully we can keep it rolling and guys stay focused, stay healthy and we can make a good run in the tournament, regardless of where we’re seeded,” Chris Slagle said. “Every team has to show up and play because it’s one and done.”
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