Staff report
SIDNEY — The Lehman Lady Cavs might have to guard against overlooking their next opponent in the Division 3 Girls Sectional Soccer Tournament.
After all, the Lady Cavs will be coming off a second win this season over Anna, two of only four losses the Lady Rockets suffered all season. So it’s doubtful that Lehman will face an opponent as good in the finals.
Lehman defeated Anna 3-1 Thursday afternoon at Lehman in semifinal action, and it earned the Lady Cavs a spot in the finals Monday. They will play either Northeastern or Troy Christian on the turf at Sidney Memorial Stadium at 7 p.m.
The win put the Lady Cavs at 12-4-1 on the season, and ended Anna’s season with a final 14-4 mark.
“For the most part, we controlled the game early,” said Lehman coach Jeremy Lorenzo. “We knew they were going to come out hard. They have six or seven seniors and that always makes a huge difference. We played between the 18s for much of the first half, and then we finally got that first goal and it seemed relax us a little.”
The goal came from Hannah Fogt on a direct kick for a 1-0 lead, and Lehman was able to add two more goals for a 3-0 lead at the half. Freshman Grace Olding scored off an assist from Fogt, then Madison Cline scored off an assist from Grace Monnin.
It stayed that way until 15 minutes remained in the game, when Emily Albers scored for the Lady Rockets.
“I thought we played well,” said Anna coach Jim Hague. “But we had a couple of miscues. On their second goal, we let a girl go unchecked down the middle, and their third goal was very similar. I thought we had them back on their heels in the last 15 minutes. But they are just a little better than us this year. I’m proud of our girls, and you can’t complain when you have 14 wins.”
Lehman had 22 shots on goal to five for the Lady Rockets.
Lehman goalie Grace Brandt had four saves and Anna keeper Kristin Grimes finished with 11.
“I feel like we’re playing pretty well right now,” said Lorenzo after his team’s first foray into postseason. “We played with a lot of passion and a lot of energy. We were without Molly Safreed, who’s a very talented sophomore. Not having her was a concern, but we’ve been able to go to the bench pretty deep this year, and that’s been huge. Sarah Fuller (leading scorer) was injured at the end of the game. It’s a recurring injury and hopefully she and Molly will be okay for Monday’s game.”
