Heritage Academy’s boys soccer team saw its season come to a bitter end in Jackson on Thursday, losing 1-0 to East Rankin in the Midsouth Association of Independent Schools Division II state championship game.
The Patriots finish the season, 12-5, the third campaign under head coach Jacob Hunt. He took over a team with just one win two years ago and has seen his players grow into a formidable squad. They had their chances to end the year at the summit, but just couldn’t find the finishing touch.
“As soon as we got on the bus the kids were talking about next year, ‘We’ll get it next year,’” Hunt said after the game. “I don’t feel like there’s anything we’d do differently this year. We worked hard for this, through hours of practice to get here. Sometimes this is just the way it falls.”
The Patriots were in control of the game early, finding space on both wings and working the ball into the box. There were few clear-cut chances, though Max Ledbetter was able to fire off a couple of shots. He had one saved and another blocked in the opening 15 minutes of play.
Ledbetter led the team in scoring with 24 goals in 17 games, including all six playoff goals scored to get to the championship game. He had a few chances to add to that tally on Thursday and even played the creator on a couple. He swapped places with winger McKinley Kilburn to create a chance, but the East Rankin keeper was quick to read the cross and come out to claim the ball.
The Patriots had eight shots in the first half to East Rankin’s one, but they failed to find a way onto the scoreboard.
“They’re smart, they see how they approached the game by sitting back. When you play against a team like us you don’t want to allow the speed to get in behind you, and they did a good job defending that. I told our guys the chances are there, we’ve got to finish and test the keeper. I thought we could get more guys forward, and we started to do that, but when you attack for 70 minutes against good defense it can get demoralizing. They had one shot in the first half, we had the opportunities and the finishing touch was our problem.”
The flow of the game began to sway a bit more toward East Rankin in the second half, though it was the Patriots who found the back of the net first. The goalkeeper impeded Ledbetter’s shot but the ball trickled through toward the back post, where Kaden Avery tapped it in, but the flag went up for offside.
In the final minutes, East Rankin was awarded a free kick. The chipped cross went over the Heritage defense and found an unmarked forward, who scored the only goal of the game with just seven minutes left on the clock.
Heritage’s frustration was clear after failing to convert several chances. They wouldn’t get close again before the final whistle.
“I thought we played well, we had some good chances,” Hunt said. “The offside goal took the momentum out of the game for our part, and I thought we were OK but it wasn’t our best game. Some of that comes from the nerves, our first time being there, but East Rankin also played a great game. They found their chance on a set piece and they took it.”
With next year already on the Patriots’ minds, it’s worth noting that most of the team is coming back. The same group that won just one game in 2022 has seen the mountaintop, and they’re ready to reach the summit next time.
“We’re losing two seniors, we have a sophomore leaving, but that’s it,” Hunt said of his returning group. “Most of the team is coming back and they’re a year older, stronger and hungrier than they were at the start. They know what it’s like to be the worst team and one of the best teams, now they know what it’s going to take to win it all and they’ll have that hunger next year too.”
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