Ludwig assisted on the first three Fluco goals to become the all-time assist leader for Fluco boys’ soccer. Ludwig is also second all-time in goals scored.
It was announced before the game that Seniors Dale Ludwig and Jordan Thacker were selected to the All-Jefferson district first team, and that seniors Quinn Johnson and Christian Franco were selected to the All-Jefferson district second team. Ludwig was honored as Jefferson District Player of the year.
On the girls’ team Katie Stutz was named to the All-Jefferson district first team. Kianna Childress was chosen for the second team.
This boys’ quarterfinal play-off game started with the Flucos controlling the action and consistently pressuring the Lions’ defense. Unfortunately, the Flucos missed on several early scoring opportunities. Eventually, the offense clicked. With 12:31 left in the first half, sophomore Hunter DeForge lofted a corner kick into the box from the left side. Ludwig positioned himself to get his head on the ball and merely nudged it over a Louisa defender. Christian Franco was there to head the ball home. The Louisa goalie had no chance on this lovely, high skill, play.
Five minutes later, Ludwig controlled the ball just inside midfield and sent a hard pass down the middle that split two defenders and found fellow senior striker Quinn Johnson in full stride. Johnson made a nice run straight at the goalie and beat him with a hard shot.
The Flucos were not done. They immediately scored a third goal, less than a minute later. DeForge again fired a corner kick into the box from the left side. This time, the ball went to the ground in the box and in a scramble for the ball Ludwig managed to move the ball to Fluco freshman defender Carter Allbaugh who fired it home for a very comfortable 3-0 lead. Allbaugh was brought forward for the corner kick because his height is an advantage in heading corner kicks. It is typical of soccer that Allbaugh who is tall, scored with his foot off a corner, while earlier Ludwig and Franco, who are shorter in stature, scored with a header combination. Whatever works.
The Flucos were not seriously challenged in the second half. With Ludwig on the bench late in the game for safety purposes, due to his being fouled repeatedly, the Lions were more competitive. However, the Fluco defense was not to be denied and it held on to maintain the shut-out. Senior Jake Bachman in goal had little to do early in the game, but came up big when the Lions attempted to rally late.
The Flucos made the score 4-0 with 27:37 left in the game, when senior Brad Bullock made a nice pass to Franco who was breaking down the middle. Franco had a defender on his left hip and the goalie came charging out to meet him. Franco made a veteran play by not trying to over power the shot. He merely directed it along the ground just out of the reach of the oncoming goalie and the ball coasted into the open net. A nice finesse play, when a power shot was not possible.
The game was cut short when thunder, lightning and a cloud burst suddenly descended on Phil Browning field with less than a minute on the clock.
In a brief interview, in the rain after the game, Coach Earl Gibson was very enthusiastic about Ludwig’s breaking the overall assist record, and he also complimented DeForge “as our workhorse in the middle.”
In the early game, the Fluco girls’ team also topped Louisa in a Jefferson district quarter-finals match-up. They won 1-0. Junior Sarah Homan scored on a header with 2:41 left in the second of two five minute overtime periods. The assist went to freshman Lexi DeMers.
