SIDNEY —Lehman Catholic scored a goal in the second half to beat Preble Shawnee 2-1 in a battle between Division III teams ranked in the top 5 in the Miami Valley Scholastic Soccer Coaches Association poll.
At the 30:56 mark of the second half, sophomore midfielder Ava Behr passed to an open Molly Safreed, who delivered her second goal of the match to put the Cavaliers up 2-1.
Preble Shawnee, which is ranked No. 4 and was coming off of a win over No. 3 Milton Union, had 9 shots on goal. Lehman, the top ranked team, had 18 shots.
“This was a fun game to be a part of,” Lehman coach Jeremy Lorenzo said. “It was 80 minutes of nonstop action with both teams attacking each other and controlling parts of the game.”
Preble Shawnee struck first with a goal in the 19th minute by Saylor Jewell.
“Jewell is everything that we have heard about her,” Lorenzo said. “We knew that she was a player that we had to stop if we were going to win this game so it was a little frustrating giving up that goal. She is regarded as one of the top strikers in the area and she showed why today.”
With 8:13 left in the first half, Safreed scored a goal to tie the game.
“That goal was huge for us,” Lorenzo said. “Big-time players make big-time plays in big games and Molly is a big time player.”
After Safreed’s second goal gave the Cavaliers the lead, Lorenzo said the last 30 minutes were intense.
Preble Shawnee had a chance to tie the game late in the second half on a penalty kick due to a hand ball in the box. However, senior goalkeeper Camille Brown had a diving save to secure the game.
“Camille came up big on that penalty,” Lorenzo said. “When it comes to PK’s, there is no better keeper than Camille Brown and she proved it again today.
“A question mark coming in to this season was our back line. After not only today but this week, I don’t think there are any more questions to ask. They are tough and get better every time they play. Senior captain Abby Jones had an amazing game and as well as Olivia Monnin, Anna Cianciolo, Amanda Titterington, and Allison Bornhorst.”
Lehman (4-1) plays at Coldwater on Thursday in a Western Ohio Soccer League match. The Cavaliers are 2-0 and in second place in the league, behind Anna (4-0, 3-0 WOSL).
“We knew this week was going to be a huge test of our physical and mental toughness,” Lorenzo said. “We had three games with two of them against top five opponents and a league game. We showed some resilience this week and as a coach, I couldn’t be more proud of this team.”
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