Fin Brown didn’t know what to do.
Campbell County’s freshman midfielder scored the Camels’ second goal in Tuesday’s 3-2 KHSAA’s first-round boys soccer state tournament win over Somerset.
“I really couldn’t think in the moment,” Brown said. “Once I hit it, I didn’t know how to react … this was my first varsity goal of the season. I just didn’t know what to do.”
Campbell County thus earned one more home game – the Camels meet Henry Clay, a 2-1 winner over Ninth Region champion Covington Catholic.
Tuesday was Campbell County’s first state tournament trip since 2017. Moreover, they join Campbell County’s girls in the second round. (Starting times have yet to be determined.)
The Camels (15-8-1) have 12 seniors on the roster, but on Tuesday, the underclassmen is who kept the season going. Sophomore Blake Minor scored in the 36th minute, and sophomore Josh Bloomfield added two assists – the first time that’s happened in nearly four years of playing high school soccer.
“Assisting just makes me feel like I help the team,” Bloomfield said.
Campbell County coach Kyle Newman wasn’t surprised.
“Good team, good program,” Newman said. “There’s a lot of guys that didn’t even see the field that probably could’ve contributed. I think it’s just a testament to, we don’t rely on one or two players. We’re well-rounded; the future’s bright here at Campbell County.”
Somerset (17-5) had two of Kentucky’s top scorers – senior Tyson Absher was fourth with 38 goals, and senior Andrew Tomlinson was ninth with 35. Each scored a goal Tuesday – Absher in the eighth minute and Tomlinson in the 43rd.
“We saw some film where whenever (Campbell County) pushed up, their outside backs have a tendency of leaving a gap,” Somerset coach Cory Tyler Gillum said of Absher’s goal.
Newman saw something the Camels could exploit – send attackers down the wings because the midfield was mostly a stalemate.
Campbell County senior Austin Bush had a scoring chance in the 12th minute when he shot from about 25 yards out, but Briar Jumpers keeper Landen Lonesky nudged it over the crossbar.
It took about 17 minutes for the Camels to even the score when Zach Franzen converted Bloomfield’s pass.
“We came out a little flat,” Gillum said. “We weren’t really firing on all cylinders, and we missed a couple key opportunities.”
Luke Linville assisted on Brown’s goal.
“I received the ball off a bad touch from (Somerset’s) left back,” Linville said. “And I looked up, and I saw Fin rushing toward the goal. I booted a cross, a curling one, over the top of their defense, and it landed on Fin’s head, which then he brought it down and shot it in the goal.”
Bloomfield fed Minor, who called his goal from about 15 yards out “amazing.”
“I just stuck my foot out there, hoping the ball would touch my foot,” Minor said. “And it did. It went in.”
Brown said teammate Joey Enzweiler guided him to Campbell County’s bench after the goal. By the end of the night, Brown knew what to do.
“I’ve got to celebrate now with my boys,” he said.
The win was the Camels first in a state tournament game since 2017 when they defeated Mercer County.