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Corbin Soccer 13th Region Champs
The Corbin Redhounds Soccer team posted its fourth consecutive shutout, capturing the 13th Region Championship Monday night with a 7-0 win over North Laurel.
Corbin led North Laurel 3-0 at halftime Monday night and added two goals early in the second half to extend the lead to 5-0.
Chesney Jacobs had three goals to lead the Redhound’s attack. Jose Torres added two goals, while Austin Wise and Gabriel Canineu each scored once.
“We really controlled the possession,” said Coach Armando Cima noting that when North Laurel was able to mount an attack it seldom posed a serious challenge for goalkeeper Jonathan Jackson.
“That was due to our ability to keep possession of the ball,” Cima said. “We have not had to win the ball back in our own end of the field.”
Cima credited his players for the way they see the field and are able to anticipate the flow in order to make plays on offense or be in possession to cut off the opponent’s attack.
“Soccer is a free-flowing game so you don’t have plays or plans, but you learn to manipulate the setup,” Cima said. “We look to spread out a little bit and then we look to create combinations.”
Cima said the Redhounds work constantly to take mistakes in stride and respond appropriately.
“You are going to make mistakes,” Cima said. “It is how you respond that is most important.”
After games Sunday and Monday, Cima said the Redhounds will have light workouts through Friday.
“Basically, we will just train on the things we always do, like tactics and strategies,” Cima said noting that once the draw is completed the team will look at the opponent and what they like to do.
“Can you keep them from doing what they like to do and can it feed into what you like to do?” Cima said.
Corbin shut out Barbourville Sunday night, 10-0 in the opening round of the region tournament.
The Redhounds won the 49th District Championship last week with a 10-0 win over Whitley County and a 5-0 win over North Laurel in the championship match.
With Monday’s win, Corbin is now 16-4 on the season and went undefeated against district and region opponents.
Corbin is trying to match the 2020 team that reached the final four before losing to eventual state champion Louisville St. Xavier.
Cima said that he believes the 2021 Redhounds are better than that team.
“I think so from a number of perspectives,” Cima said. “We only lost four players to graduation and we replace all of those players with juniors who became seniors. That maturity, you can’t describe the benefit of the year.”
“Just from the standpoint of the players’ approach to the game, they are maturing,” Cima said. “They have put in the work to get better.”
The drawing for the semi-state matchups Wednesday has Corbin facing the winner of the 11th Region.
The 11th Region Tournament is ongoing with the semifinals scheduled for Wednesday night and the final to be played Saturday afternoon.
The semifinals features Great Crossing and Lexington Catholic in the first game and Frankfort and Paul Laurence Dunbar in the second.
The home team will be determined based on the respective schools’ RPI.
Corbin’s RPI is currently .64530.
If Great Crossing or Frankfort win the region, Corbin would host the game. If Lexington Catholic or Paul Laurence Dunbar wins, Corbin will be on the road.
Corbin lost to Lexington Catholic on Aug. 28, 2-1.
The Redhounds defeated Great Crossing on Sept. 9, 7-2.
