XENIA — The final score didn’t really give any indication how well the Lehman Catholic girls soccer team played Saturday at Doug Adams Field in Xenia in a Division III regional final.
Yes, the Cavaliers finished at 14-5-1 after a 3-0 loss to the Indians (17-2).
But, the game felt much closer than that.
After the Indians rolled through their first four tournaments games by outscoring opponents 29-1, including a 4-1 win over Western Ohio Soccer League champion Anna in the regional semifinals, they found themselves in a 0-0 tied with Lehman in the first half. It was the first time in the postseason the CCD did not score in the first half.
“Our defense was phenomenal,” Lehman coach Jeremy Lorenzo said. “That is a great team. The first half was exactly what we wanted.”
And early in the second half, it seemed like the momentum had swung to Lehman.
The Cavaliers had several scoring chances and Lindsey Magoteaux just missed scoring on Grace Olding’s corner kick with 35 minutes to go before Lilly Reisenfeld made the save.
“It seemed like things were going our way,” Lorenzo said. “I thought we were going to get things done today.”
And it took 54 minutes before CCD could get that first goal, on an unlikely play.
Lawson Renie was on the left side and popped a ball up high that came down just in front of the goal. Jenna Setters was able to head it in at the 26:53 mark to give the Indians a 1-0 lead.
“It was kind of a fluke in a way,” Lorenzo said. “The ball was hit pretty high and it had a strange spin. She (Jenna Setters) got her head on it and it went over our goalie’s (Hannah Giguere) head.”
At the 22:23 mark, Chloe Webb crossed the ball to Jada Moorman who put it in to make it 2-0.
The final goal came on a PK with 9:23 remaining, with Kate Brock hitting the shot.
“The third goal really hurt,” Lorenzo said. “Up to that point, I thought we were right in it. The girls played a great game.”
CCD outshot Lehman 17-5. Reisenfeld had five saves, while Giguere had seven for Lehman. Both teams had three corner kicks.
It was the final game for a senior class that includes Allison Bornhorst, Carly Edwards, Samantha Edwards, Emily Fogt, Liz Gibson, Hannah Giguere, Lily Greene, Madison Hurley, Grace Monnin, Grace Olding and Maria Schmiesing, whose legacy will be becoming the second Lehman girls soccer team to reach the regional finals.
“We are losing a great group of girls,” Lorenzo said. “Probably half of those girls were four-year starters for us. I think six of them were four-year starters for us.”
But, the cupboard is not bare. Lehman also returns a talented group, led by leading scorer Lindsey Magoteaux.
“We have a real strong junior class,” Lorenzo said. “And we have some good players coming into the program. We will go back and start from scratch.”
In hopes of playing some more November soccer.
