By Justin Sokeland
WBIW.com
BEDFORD – Bedford North Lawrence sophomore Ian Wilcher has donned a new hat. Looks like it fits perfectly, like a cowboy with a broken-in, rumpled Stetson or an old man with his shady Panama during an afternoon walk in the park.
Asked to fill the offensive void following the graduation of most of the team firepower from a year ago, Wilcher made the adjustment from the background to the forefront, recording a hat trick as the Stars made their debut on the new turf field with a 7-0 victory over county rival Mitchell on Thursday evening.
Wilcher exploded for two quick goals during the first 100 seconds of the second half to complete his three-goal outburst, part of BNL’s offensive explosion that did the damage against the Bluejackets (0-2). Clinging to a one-goal lead late in the first half, the Stars scored five times during a 15-minute span to lock down their first win of the season.
This is new territory for Wilcher, who didn’t record a goal as a freshman. His mindset had to change quickly when BNL coach Ryan Otis chose him as the focus of the attack.
“That’s a big part of the game plan, get him up top and let him cause some havoc, be a menace to the back line,” Otis said. “We’ve been stressing that, and we were finally able to do that.”
Wilcher started the scoring at 38:25 of the first half, sniping a 15-yard shot through traffic. The Bluejackets could not generate much of a counter attack as BNL applied constant pressure, but Mitchell goalie Jayden Zepeda smothered everything for the next 30 minutes.
BNL took control with goals by Weston Holtz (7:15 with a left-footer to the right corner of the net) and Noah Childers (settling and shooting in front with 14 seconds left) to conclude the first half. Then Wilcher went off.
He chipped home his second goal at 39:22 of the second half, then took a beautiful crossing pass from Childers on the right wing to smack home his third goal at 38:21.
“We just worked as a team,” Wilcher said. “We came to the conclusion we needed to pass the ball more and be less selfish. I feel like I have to show up, and the team has to have my back. The hat trick feels great. I’m not used to it.”
BNL finished its scoring with goals by Burr Hubbard (a shot deflected by Mitchell goalie Carson Hammond into the corner at 32:43) and Nathan Tomlin (8:09).
“We finally got to put a game together, move the ball around,” Otis said.
Mitchell could not withstand BNL’s 31-shot barrage.
“It was anxiety, a little bit or nerves,” Mitchell coach Jason Bowden said. “We still need to learn to settle the ball well, keep our head up. We were just swiping at the ball. Once we settle down, it will be a whole new game for us.
”We have a really young team, still learning the fundamentals. We’re playing a little lackadaisical, but once we get the anxiety out we’ll be fine.”
The Stars will host Floyd Central (varsity only) on Saturday.
