ANNA — Anna secured its third consecutive outright Western Ohio Soccer League title and its sixth and seven years with a dominating win over Spencerville on Thursday, two days after a tournament tune-up in a nonconference match against West Liberty-Salem.

Anna lost 3-0 to the Tigers (14-0) on Tuesday and beat Spencerville 7-0 on Thursday; the win over the Bearcats secured a 5-0 finish in WOSL play for the Rockets (9-3-2).

Anna first-year coach Greg Vangorden, who succeeded Mike Noll, said the expectations were high for the team, which has about 10 returnees from last year.

“The girls are playing very well,” said Vangorden, who was an assistant during Noll’s entire seven-year tenure. “Our returnees are playing well, and we’ve got a couple of freshmen that have come up this year, stepped up and are really contributing.

“We’ve got some JV players who have stepped up and are playing well, too. We’ve just got to clean up our mistakes, and we can be even better.”

Among the returnees is junior forward Chelsea McEldowney, who was a second team all-WOSL selection last year. She has scored 12 goals this season.

It’s been a team effort for the Rockets, and that was evident on Thursday. McEldowney scored one goal, junior forward Iris Canan scored two and freshman forward Tori Osborn scored one goal and had three assists. Victoria Heitkamp, Cierra Meyer and Maddy Seitz each scored one goal.

“This year, there’s no one dominant player,” Vangorden said. “We have a very good group together, and any given moment, any of them can score.”

Senior defender Jenna Wolters has recently returned to the team after a foot injury; she scored one goal in a 3-1 win over Coldwater last Thursday.

Junior goalkeeper Abby Stroh was a first team all-WOSL selection last year. She had 14 saves on Tuesday against West Liberty.

“It’s her third year starting in the box, and she does very well,” Vangorden said.

Vangorden said junior midfielder Reagan Schloss, sophomore defender Peyton Carey, senior defender Courtney Dulaney and sophomore midfielder Vanessa Platfoot are also key defensive players.

“We’re just a very well-rounded team,” Vangorden said. “We have a few leaders that step up every game, and then any given night, there’s somebody else stepping up scoring.”

West Liberty-Salem is ranked No. 4 in Division III in the state coaches association poll. It’s one of several strong teams the Rockets have played in nonleague action; they tied Findlay Liberty-Benton, who is ranked No. 8 in Div. II, 0-0 on Sept. 23.

“I feel like we played (West Liberty) very well,” Vangorden said. “We made a couple of mistakes that we took advantage of. If we clean that up, I think we’ll have a real good chance to compete with them and give them a good game if we see them again in a few weeks.”

Anna has a busy week ahead to finish regular-season play. The Rockets are scheduled to travel to St. Marys (8-4-2) on Saturday, Miami East (7-6-1) on Thursday and Lima Shawnee (4-4-6) next Saturday.

Tournament play begins the week of Oct. 15. Seed voting is taking place online through noon on Saturday; tournament draw meetings will take place Sunday.

Botkins second in WOSL

Botkins finished second in WOSL play with a 4-1 record; the Trojans lost 5-3 to Anna on Aug. 31.

Senior forward Camdyn Paul has scored 28 goals and has 10 assists this year. Junior midfielder Delana Pitts has scored 11 goals and has 10 assists and sophomore forward Addison Blindauer has scored 11 goals and has nine assists. Sophomore goalkeeper Delaney Manger has 55 saves and four shutouts to her credit.

The Trojans (8-5-1) are scheduled to travel to Fairbanks (5-9) on Saturday and to Newton (9-4-1) on Thursday.

Lehman Catholic first in TRC

The Cavaliers beat Miami East for the second time in three weeks on Tuesday and has the Three Rivers Conference title wrapped up.

Bethel lost 5-3 to the Vikings on Thursday. It was the sixth straight defeat for the Bees (5-6, 2-3 TRC), which were first in the conference entering a matchup with the Cavaliers on Sept. 14.

Lehman (9-4, 4-1) has won seven straight; the squad has its first TRC title secured as a result of Bethel’s loss on Thursday.

The Cavaliers edged the Vikings 3-2 on Tuesday in Casstown. Senior forward Eva Dexter scored two goals and freshman forward Emi Wray scored one. Junior goalkeeper Callie Giguere had seven saves.

Dexter has scored 33 goals this season, which is a program record. She scored six goals in the team’s season opener, which is a record for goals in a single game. She also has two assists.

Lehman is scheduled to host Bethel on Monday and will wrap up regular-season play next Saturday by traveling to Cincinnati Country Day (12-2).

Sidney ties with MVL leader Tippecanoe

Sidney played to a scoreless tie with Miami Valley League leader Tippecanoe on Wednesday in Tipp City and has another tough opponent scheduled for Saturday.

The Yellow Jackets, which have already secured their fifth straight MVL Valley Division title, are scheduled to host Perrysburg (12-1-1) in a nonconference match; they lost 4-0 to Perrysburg (which is located south of Toledo) last year.

Sidney (11-1-3, 5-1-2) beat Beavercreek 5-4 on Monday at Sidney Memorial Stadium. It was the second high-scoring game against a Greater Western Ohio Conference foe this season; the Yellow Jackets beat Miamisburg 6-5 on Sept. 11.

Sidney coach Kevin Veroneau stressed to players after Monday’s match a stronger defensive effort was needed, and the squad responded against the Red Devils (12-1-1), which had scored three or more goals nine times this season.

It was the seventh shutout this season for Sidney sophomore goalkeeper Kaylee Morgan.

Sidney had eight shots on goal but couldn’t get any across; it was the first time the team has been shut out since a 1-0 loss to Troy on Aug. 23.

Sidney junior forward Larkyn Vordemark has scored an MVL-best 32 goals and also has seven assists. Sophomore forward Kenzi Koester has scored 10 goals and has 15 assists and sophomore forward Katie McKinney has scored seven goals and has 10 assists.

Senior midfielder Olivia Barga has 12 assists and five goals and senior defender Kimora Johnson has 13 assists and four goals; they, along with senior forward Shelby McVety, senior midfielder Kyleigh Spade and senior midfielder Lauren Conley were celebrated on Monday.

After Saturday’s match, Sidney will wrap up regular-season play on Wednesday by traveling to Greenville (1-12-2).

Tipp and Butler (10-0-4) are tied for first in overall MVL standings with 7-0-1 records; each tied with Sidney. The Red Devils and Aviators are scheduled to play on Wednesday in Vandalia.

Reach Bryant Billing at 937-538-4818, or follow @SidneyOHSports on Twitter and @BryantBillingSDN on Facebook.