Photo by Hunter Whitecotton/Southern Focus Photography
Hunter Whitecotton with Darren Kinnard/River Radio Sports Central
MURPHYSBORO — The Murphysboro Red Devils wasted little time asserting their dominance Tuesday night, jumping out to a 7-0 halftime lead and rolling past Waterloo Gibault Catholic 8-1 in an IHSA Class 1A boys soccer regional semifinal at Doc Bencini Field.
Sophomore forward David Boudet led the charge with a first-half hat trick.
“I kinda had that feeling tonight would be a big night,” Boudet said. “But I also know I have to keep my emotions in check because we all feed off each other’s energy. If one person’s energy is off, it throws off the rhythm for everyone around them.”
Boudet opened the scoring at the 29:36 mark and added another just three minutes later to make it 2-0. Myles Guthman extended the lead at 24:47, followed by goals from Sergio Garcia (13:49) and Chase Taylor (11:12). Boudet completed his hat trick with 8:01 left in the half, and Jeremiah Vaughn capped off the first-half barrage with a goal at 3:10.
In a shortened second half, Noah Guetersloh added Murphysboro’s eighth goal at 13:54. Gibault’s Austin Sterns broke up the shutout with a late score at the 6:23 mark.
Murphysboro head coach Tim Bunselmeyer credited his team’s energy and control for the lopsided win.
“Our midfielders did a fantastic job controlling the aggressive pace we wanted to set from the start,” Bunselmeyer said. “Being able to use our speed with David (Boudet), Jerry (Jeremiah Vaughn) and Sergio (Garcia) really helps us play our game and control the tempo. Holding a team like that to one goal and very few chances is super impressive.”
For Boudet, the offensive explosion came down to chemistry and execution.
“Our passing was really good tonight,” Boudet said. “Having Miles and Jonas send those through balls really helps widen our approach and lets us run in transition.”
With the win, Murphysboro advances to face Massac County in the regional championship for the second straight year. The Red Devils won last year 1-0 in Metropolis. This matchup will serve as the decisive season tiebreaker between the two teams, who have tied 1-1 twice in the last six weeks and shared the Southern Illinois River-to-River Conference title.
“Having home field advantage really gives us a positive outlook,” Bunselmeyer said. “We know going into Saturday we’re going to have to keep our emotions in check for the full 80 minutes.”
The championship match will get underway at 1:30 Saturday in Murphysboro. The winner will advance to next week’s Father McGivney Sectional in Glen Carbon.
