Thursday night, duPont Manual High School lost the boys’ soccer match 3-2 against rival Louisville Male High School at Male’s soccer field off of Preston Highway. Male lead 1-0 at halftime, and scored again before Manual could strike back midway through the second half.

Gregory Healey (12, #13) scored two goals within two minutes of each other to tie the game at 2-2, one coming off of a free kick from Connor Shea (12, #6)

“The crowd we had there was unreal. Seeing our student section erupt after the second goal felt almost as good as seeing the Male section completely stunned,” said Healey.

Tempers flared on and off the field from both sides, as both student sections hurled vulgar insults at the players. Players also found themselves engaging in callous actions, as three yellow cards were handed out during the game.

Six minutes in, Connor Shea (12, #6) received a yellow card for throwing a Male player to the ground in retaliation for a foul that went uncalled.

“I let my emotions get the better of me. The Male students were yelling things that really just pissed me off. That player was all over me and the ref wouldn’t call the foul; I got tired of it,” said Shea.

Male scored another goal with fifteen minutes remaining, which put the game out of reach for the Crimsons. Manual also lost last year’s match 3-0 to the Bulldogs. For the seniors on the field, the loss hit especially hard.

“Coach Ramsey pulled Connor [Shea] and me aside at halftime and made sure we understood that it could be the last time we ever played Male. That was on my mind the entire second half; I went out there with the mindset that I was going to leave everything on the field, but in the end we just came up a little short” said Healey.

Manual fell to 3-3 on the season, and will only have another chance to face Male if they meet in the Regional tournament.