SIDNEY — They all haven’t been easy, but Lehman Catholic has amassed one of the largest winning streaks of all Dayton-area Division III teams.

With a Three Rivers Conference title wrapped up, the squad is aiming for a deep postseason run. That won’t be easy, either, according to first-year coach Oshae Peart, but he said the squad has proven it is battle-hardened.

Lehman (10-4, 5-1 TRC) beat Bethel 1-0 in a conference finale on Monday, thanks to freshman forward Emi Wray scoring a goal with 57 seconds left. It’s the Cavaliers’ eighth straight win.

“The cold and the pressure of winning the last (league) game (was tough), but the girls have fought, and they definitely deserve it,” Peart said.

Wray, who has scored seven goals this year, took a pass from senior star Eva Dexter, dribbled with defenders on either side and managed to send a shot in from about 15 yards back.

“That’s just a perfect image of our season, just sticking with it,” Peart said. “We started out really rough. A lot of people ruled us out, but the girls kept going, kept pushing. Lesson after lesson we learned, and we kept growing.”

It was the second close win in a row for Lehman, which edged Miami East 3-2 last Tuesday. The Vikings had more shots on goal, and Bethel did as well on Monday; Lehman junior goalkeeper Callie Giguere made 14 saves against the Bees.

After giving up five or more goals in nonconference losses to Anna, West Liberty-Salem and Cincinnati Mariemont, the Cavaliers have contained opponents recently. They’ve allowed four goals total during the win streak and have posted five shutouts.

“They’ve gained confidence and learned what they’re capable of doing,” Peart said. “When you start out so rough, it’s hard to keep going. The girls understood what they needed to do, and they kept picking themselves up and working hard, and it paid off.”

Giguere has made 81 saves this year. Aside from Giguere, Peart said the squad’s defenders have been playing well.

“That’s been our emphasis a lot recently,” Peart said. “Attacking, we don’t have much of an issue. …Defense is definitely something we’ve been pushing. Our clean sheets have been paying off for sure. Our defense deserves a lot of praise for that, and the whole teams deserves praise.”

Dexter has made a TRC-best 33 goals and freshman forward Veronica Pannapara has made a conference-best 14 assists and has scored five goals.

Lehman was voted the No. 3 seed in the 20-team Dayton Division III sectional. The squad is scheduled to start tournament play next Thursday against the winner of No. 5 Springfield Greenon (11-4) and No. 17 Northeastern (5-11). Greenon, which beat Northeastern 11-0 earlier this year, won a district title last year.

If Lehman wins its first postseason game, it will advance to a district semifinal and will face either No. 8 Milton-Union or No. 13 Preble Shawnee on Oct. 23. The Bulldogs split with Lehman in TRC play.

The Cavaliers won the TRC title last year but were knocked out of postseason play in a 5-4 double overtime loss to Bethel, which they had beaten twice in regular season.

“Anything can happen in tournament,” Peart said. “We’re going to approach it like it’s our first game of the season and we’re starting all over. …I told the girls we’ll focus on our next game, because anything can happen in tournament. You have to go in with the right mindset, and game-by-game is what we’re working on right now.”

The Cavaliers’ winning streak will be challenged in their regular-season finale on Saturday. The squad is scheduled to travel to Cincinnati Country Day (13-2), which was voted the No. 1 seed in the Cincinnati D-III sectional.

Country Day has scored four or more goals in 10 games; the team has three players who have scored 15 or more goals this season.

Anna No. 4, Botkins No. 7 in Dayton D-III sectional

Anna was voted the No. 4 seed in the Dayton Division III sectional while Botkins was voted No. 7. The two squads could face off.

The Trojans (8-5-2) will host No. 16 Tri-County North in a sectional semifinal next Monday and if victorious will travel to Anna (10-3-2) next Thursday for a sectional final. Anna beat Botkins 5-3 in a Western Ohio Soccer League match on Aug. 31.

The winner of the sectional final will advance to a district semifinal on Oct. 23 against either No. 6 Miami East or No. 11 Brookville.

Sidney voted No. 4 seed in Dayton D-I sectional

The Yellow Jackets were voted No. 4 in the Dayton D-I sectional and will open postseason play next Thursday.

Sidney (11-2-3) will host either No. 7 Dayton Chaminade-Julienne (7-4-4) or No. 18 Springfield. If victorious, they’ll advance to a district semifinal on Oct. 23, likely at No. 3 Vandalia-Butler (10-0-4). Sidney tied Butler 2-2 on Sept. 27, and CJ tied Butler 0-0 on Aug. 26.

Sidney lost 4-1 to Perrysburg on Saturday at Sidney Memorial Stadium. Perrysburg (12-0-1) is ranked No. 5 in Division I in the state coaches association poll.

The Yellow Jackets played without senior forward Larkyn Vordemark, who has a knee injury. Vordemark, who has scored an MVL-best 32 goals and has seven assists, received her first scholarship offer from a Division I university earlier this week during a visit to Southern Indiana.

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