By Justin Sokeland
WBIW.com
BEDFORD – Knock, and it shall be opened. Unless the door is the Seymour net. Bedford North Lawrence’s repeatedly beat its knuckles on the entrance, only to be turned away.
The Owls withstood constant pressure to preserve a shutout, and scored the only goal early in the second half to frustrate the Stars 1-0 in BNL’s home finale on Thursday night.
Marckenson Paul, Seymour’s scoring leader, booted home the eventual game winner, and Seymour’s back line was rock solid. Even with the Stars in overdrive mode during the final 15 minutes, the Owls didn’t crack. And that’s not surprising. Seymour (11-5, 4-2 in the Hoosier Hills Conference) recorded its sixth shutout while extending its winning streak to five straight.
“We pride ourselves on our defense,” Seymour coach Matt Dennis said. “Credit to Bedford, the attack was direct and fast. We struggled to make adjustments and gave up far too many corners to my liking. That was good play from them.”
But not good enough. BNL’s best scoring chance during the late push, a close-range shot from J.D. Russell with 7 1/2 minutes left, sailed high over the crossbar. Every other threat was neutralized before it materialized into something serious.
“They were parking the bus and we were hammering on them,” BNL coach Ryan Otis said. “We’ve been working on that high press. We put pressure on them, they make mistakes. We’re right there.”
The Owls missed their first great opportunity when Evan Unterseher’s penalty kick with 1:36 left in the first half whistled high. But they cashed in the next. Paul won the race to a pass in open space and found the corner of the goal with 35:49 left.
“When we can play through and create angles to attack the post, that’s what we pride ourselves on,” Dennis said. “That’s what the goal came from. That’s what we want. And our defense held strong. We know, when we come here, it will be a tough game. It’s never easy.”
Both teams are looking ahead to the sectional at Jennings County next week. BNL (8-6-1, 1-3-1 in the league) will face Jeffersonville on Monday, while Seymour drew a bye to a semifinal clash with New Albany on Wednesday. The Owls look to be peaking at the perfect time.
“I hope so,” Dennis said. “Ask me next week. I don’t know if we’re peaking, but we’re definitely on the right track, doing some good things.”
The Stars have unfinished league business, visiting HHC frontrunner Floyd Central on Saturday.
