Kankakee Valley High School

The KV varsity boys soccer team made the trip to crosstown rival DeMotte Christian on Thursday night. Stout defending and two goals by freshman Bryce Moore helped the Kougars come away with a 2-0 shutout victory over the Knights on their Senior Night. This was the first meeting of the two schools since the 2022 season which resulted in a 2-2 draw. From the start, the Kougars continued their strong play from the night before against Andrean. They had more of the possession and created pressure in the Knight's defensive third of the field. There were some strong buildups with the ball using their outside midfielders to create crosses and shots on the Knight's goal. One of those crosses by sophomore William Nava Contreras in the 16th minute turned into an assist to Bryce Moore inside the Knight's penalty box. As the ball arrived Moore collected the ball off a bounce and slipped his shot past the oncoming goalkeeper to give the Kougars the 1-0 lead. KV had more moments in the half to add on another goal, but the Knight's goalkeeper and defense were able to keep the deficit at one. On the defensive side of the ball, KV's back four consisting of sophomore Creed Veach, senior Jake Hamstra, senior Trevor Poplawski, and freshman Cole Armstrong did a commendable job, especially defending the Knight's leading scorer Chase Burlingham (who has a team-high 21 goals this season). In the second half, KV was able to keep more control of the ball and continued to use its midfield play as they did in the first stanza. With less than 28 minutes left in the match, senior Landon Palfi's perfectly timed through ball found Bryce Moore stride-for-stride past the Knight's back line. As Moore dribbled near the six yard box, he calmly place his shot past the approaching goalkeeper to give KV a 2-0 advantage. Palfi and Moore each had two very good scoring chances later in the second half, but both were denied by some amazing saves by the Knight's goalkeeper. As the clock hit zero, the Kougars would come out the victors of the cross-town derby 2-0 and earn their fifth win of the season. "I'm incredibly proud of our performance tonight," said head KV coach Jovan Jeftich. "The team responded well after a tough defeat the night before. We are starting to play very well as a group and its starting to come together for us late in the season. Playing DeMotte Christian, especially on their Senior Night, is never easy. However we were able to take advantage of the scoring moments in each half which helped us earn this hard fought victory. A great team win." The Kougars will get one day of rest before they travel to Washington Township on Saturday. This will be their last game of the regular season before the start of sectional play. Game time is set for a 10 a.m. start. Game Statistics Goals Bryce Moore 2 Assists William Nava Contreras 1 Landon Palfi 1 Saves Damien Vargas 5 Record 5-10