'At this point, everything is tough': Bloomington South, Martinsville clash in testy semi

TERRE HAUTE — Martinsville had a good night keeping Bloomington South's leading scorers, Joe DeGiorgio and Landon Ryner away from the net and off the scoreboard.

The Panthers' diversity and depth of talent and a strong defensive effort made sure that wasn't enough to derail their sectional title hopes.

Sub James Ryan used fresh legs to stun the Arties right before halftime and defenseman Kyston Howard was in the right place at the right time to clean up in the box for a couple of rare goals for both of them, to lead South to a hard-fought 2-0 win in the semifinals of the Class 3A Terre Haute South Sectional on Wednesday.

Now, after tough battles with two rivals, another awaits in the finals as No. 8 South (14-1-1) takes on No. 3 Center Grove (13-2-2) a 6-0 winner over Terre Haute South in the later semi, in Saturday's title game at 2 p.m. in a rematch from last year.

"At this point of the tournament, everything is tough," South coach Corbin Calvert said. "So we have to figure it out. This was definitely not our best game but we've got two days of practice to figure it out and be ready for (Center Grove)."

Unexpected sources

Coming in, James had taken five shots all year and Howard? None.

James' score, his second of the season, came with just 1:41 left in the first half and caused some controversy given the referees' judgment call that allowed it to stand.

Etienne Leykin took possession short of midfield and fired a deep ball to James, who had entered the game just a short time before, giving South some fresh legs against a tiring defense.

He beat his man and the charging goalkeeper to the ball by a blink of an eye the linesman ruled, to flick the ball by the keeper, leaving an easy tap-in for the 1-0 lead.

"That was huge," Calvert said. "We needed one right before half, because the longer this game sits at 0 the more we're keeping them in it."

With leading scorer Joe DeGiorgio on the bench after picking up a yellow card early in the second half, South managed to pick up a gritty goal off a corner kick with 17:17 to go. Konrad Polit's entry pass from left to right went just beyond the far post, where Stefan Bartlett headed the ball back toward the net.

The ball hit a body, came back to Howard and he knocked it in for his first goal of the season and a much-needed 2-0 lead.

"We practice those," Calvert said. "We practice corners where one guy just keeps it alive. It's not necessarily he's going for a shot, he's just keeping it alive so someone else can come in.

"The last two games, between our free kicks and our corners, everything we've practiced we've executed perfectly. So I'm very proud of them for that."

As the game moved on, more subs contributed for South.

"I love not just them but everyone I started putting up top," Calvert said. "As soon as I took Joe out (to protect against a second yellow card), you had Elliott Nix, Rice (Laughlin), James, Easton (Figert). Everyone I put up there just worked their butt off.

"And that's exactly what I want from the bench. That's why we are a deep bench. I don't always use them, but when I do, that's what I expect and they gave that to me."

Martinsville keeps it close

The Arties hung tough the first half despite being outshot 6-0. They argued the no-call on the first score to no avail, but the head referee and linesmen were in agreement in allowing it to stand. It was tough to swallow for the Arties.

"We are down players," Spina said. "The only reason I say that, we had an 18-man rotation playing all season. We had 13 play tonight, so those five players who are missing are huge. And we had to play overtime on Monday, too. Our legs are heavy, it's the end of the season.

"So for our kids to come out and battle against a very, very, very good team, I was pleased for the entire half."

Martinsville had no choice after halftime but to open up and became more dangerous on the offensive end and it kept South on edge. But the Panthers still had a speed advantage and that kept Charlie Rawlins, Martin Barco and Will Payton in check.

Their first shot on goal did not arrive until 29:45 remained.

"We had a gameplan and we were going to be more defensive and then we had to change that," Martinsville coach Willy Spina said. "Now we had to score. The first 15 minutes of the second half, we pushed. We had chances.

"We've struggled in the final third all year but our kids didn't give up. We came out with a lot of energy."

80 minutes of effort

It got a bit chippy by the end, with four yellow cards issued, two to each squad with two competitive squads going at it. South trying to hold serve against the Arties (11-6-2) and Martinsville looking for that postseason breakthrough against the Panthers.

"There's a stigma sometimes between Martinsville and Bloomington that we don't belong," Spina said. "And we won 11 games this year and I felt like we belonged on this field with them and we battled our butts off."

"It wasn't pretty by any means," Calvert said. "It was who was going to dig deeper and fight. Obviously, that's why yellow cards are flying around everywhere, because it was a battle and that's what it had to be."

Now, South finds itself in the underdog role, looking to knock off what looks like will be its sectional nemesis for the time being.

More: Here's how Lighthouse, Edgewood fared in boys' soccer semis

"Congrats to Martinsville," Calvert said. "Their coach is doing an amazing job. Martinsville, they are a physical team. They are coming at you, they do not give up and we know that. It's like North.

"Like we said, 'Guys, at this point, you've got to start playing your best.' It was an unlucky draw. We have the hardest road. But I also told them, on the flipside of that, if we win the sectional it would be the best sectional we've ever won. So use that as motivation."

Contact Jim Gordillo at jgordillo@heraldt.com and follow on X (Twitter) @JimGordillo.

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Bloomington South battles Martinsville in testy boys' soccer semi