The Seymour boys soccer team could do no wrong on Saturday.
Whatever angle you looked at their game against Whiteland — the program’s 200th IHSAA win, a victory in the turf field’s opener, domination by Seymour in each third of the field — the Owls came out on top.
With packed stands, the Owls won 3-0 against the Warriors.
Sophomore Cole Fosbrink got the Owls on the board first when a shot slipped past the Warriors’ keeper from about 18 yards with 14:33 to play in the first half.
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With 47 ticks on the clock before half, Seymour senior Mason Pottschmidt slipped a pass to sophomore Daniel Harman who scored from six yards out.
At intermission, the Owls had outshot the Warriors 8-3 as they lead 2-0.
With 27:45 left in the game, Fosbrink placed a corner kick into the center of the box which found the head of junior Zach Moore for a score.
“(Fosbrink) had never played left back until today, just a little bit in training,” Dennis said. “I thought he was dynamic on the ball and strong moving forward. It was just good to see all 11 guys out there fighting and competing.”
In the final 10 minutes, Seymour played a majority of their reserves on the field.
Seymour finished with 12 shots to the Warriors’ three.
Owls coach Matt Dennis was impressed with how his team brought intensity to all 80 minutes.
“We competed for every ball,” Dennis said. “If we weren’t first to the ball we were second. We played to feet, had overlaps and combination play. Anytime a guy had the ball there were two or three guys supporting. Everything that we’ve worked on — shape and rotations — came out today and it was awesome.”
Owls junior Elliott Clark recorded the shutout in goal and Brayan Morales played the final 12 minutes as keeper.
Both recorded a save in the game.
The Owls held possession close to 70 percent of the game, utilizing their ability to pass to feet.
Dennis said that Pottschmidt, a forward, and fellow senior captains Brantley Adams (midfield) and Griffin Sciarra (defense) all played a big role in the team’s win.
“They fought for everything and communicated well,” Dennis said. “They coached-up the young guys. We played five sophomores in this match. They’re contributing and learning. The captains are a huge part of that, they’re an extension of me out on the field. They did a phenomenal job today.”
Dennis said his team was hungry to get that first game in the books.
“We were supposed to play Tuesday (against Brown County),” he said. “We had 25 practices before the first game. The boys were ready to hit on someone else rather than their teammates. They were fired-up from the start and you could tell. ”
The Owls (1-0) play Tuesday at Columbus East.
East defeated Seymour 5-0 in last year’s sectional championship at the Richard Wigh Soccer Complex.
“We were supposed to play Tuesday. We had 25 practices before the first game. The boys were ready to hit on someone else rather than their teammates. They were fired-up from the start and you could tell. “