Nearly assured of a berth to the NJCAA Division II national tournament, the No. 5 Neosho County Panthers took down the No. 8 Johnson County Cavaliers, 3-1, in Tuesday’s Region 6/9 championship match.
It was quality over quantity for the Panthers — Johnson County controlled possession through much of the match, it rarely got penetration beyond the middle third of the pitch.
“We knew what kind of game it was going to be,” Neosho County head coach Elliot Chadderton said. “Johnson is very good at keeping the ball, but we knew if we were to invite pressure, they would step up and that would expose them out wide, where we’ve got our quicker players. That’s been the gameplan the three times we’ve beat them. We knew when we had the ball, we’d counter quickly and get our chances.”
Neosho County got on the board within the first minute as Dylan Roberts drew a foul in the box against Cavaliers goalie Ben Hertel on an attack — Panthers striker Callum Niven buried the penalty kick.
“It was massively important,” Chadderton said. “I was disappointed in our last performance against Pratt. I thought we lacked energy. I told the guys we had to start quickly and get a foothold in the game. They did exactly that.”
In the 31st minute, Neosho County built a 2-nil lead on a goal from Asaph Silveira assisted by Joe Taylor — Silveira set up Taylor on the left side with a backwards heel kick before running into the box for Taylor’s cross.
“Our left side is excellent,” Chadderton said. “They’re always playing together. They know they have the freedom to express themselves. They do that game in and game out.”
Johnson County got within a goal of the Panthers as Ryan Grinstead scored for the Cavaliers.
The Cavaliers nearly netted an equalizer in the 82nd minute on a shot that went just left of the post — two minutes later, Niven scored his second goal to ice the match.
“We’ve defended well all season, so we always give ourselves a chance to win games,” Chadderton said. “Late, it was time for our defenders to step up. Then our big player stepped up in a big moment.”
With the victory, Neosho County likely locked up a berth to the national tournament. The Panthers will play in the Plains District Championship on Saturday against No. 2 Iowa Lakes, with the winner getting an automatic berth. The loser will likely get an at-large bid.
“I’ve done research, looking around the country, and I knew how important today’s game was to get us to nationals,” Chadderton said. “I feel confident that we definitely should go, now. I can think what I want, but it’s down to the committee. We’ve beaten the No. 8 team three times. We’ve got 16 wins and one loss. We’ve got the resume to be heading to nationals.”
Up next
Saturday’s district championship will be a rematch from a Sept. 1 match that Iowa Lakes won, 3-1 — the only loss of the season for the Panthers.
“Our focus now is winning the district,” Chadderton said. “Iowa Lakes is our only loss of the season. I feel like, as a group, we’ve come so far. I think it’s going to be a great game. I just want to play as many games as we can with this group. Everybody is bought in. That’s rare with a team.”
