ANNA — Anna was hoping to perform better on defense against Botkins in a Division III sectional final on Thursday and did. They’ll look for a repeat performance on their home field this Monday.

The Rockets beat Botkins 2-0 on a windy and rainy evening to advance to a district semifinal, in which they’ll host Brookville. The winner of Monday’s semifinal will advance to a district final on Thursday at a neutral site.

Anna, which is the sectional’s No. 4 seed, has advanced to at least a district semifinal each of the last eight years and has advanced to a district final each season since 2017.

The Rockets (12-4-2) beat the No. 7 seed Trojans 5-3 in a Western Ohio Soccer League game on Aug. 31 in Botkins.

“Our girls were just ready,” Anna coach Greg Vangorden said. “We prepared all week and had a good game plan going in. “… Our defense has done what they’ve done all year long and played tough together.

Botkins senior forward Camdyn Paul was named the WOSL offensive player of the year and scored 37 goals with 12 assists. Vangorden said she was Anna’s main focus.

“We didn’t want to let Camdyn beat us,” Vangorden said. “She got marked one on one. Kaelin (Steward, a sophomore defender) did an excellent job doing that.”

Freshman forward Tori Osborn scored both of Anna’s goals. The first came with about seven minutes left in the first half and the second came with about 16 minutes left in the second half.

On the second goal, Osborn sent a soft kick into the net several yards in front of the goal after the ball popped away from Botkins sophomore goalkeeper Delaney Manger, who had slid to try to make a save.

“It’s key in a big game to come out and strike first,” Vangorden said. “Tori had a great game, and the girls had a great game around her. …Botkins is a great team and had a great season. My hat’s off to them.”

Botkins, which finished second behind Anna in WOSL standings, finishes the season with a 10-6-2 record.

Though its record is slightly worse than last year, coach Padraig Murphy is proud of the squad’s effort through a loaded nonconference schedule that included a state-ranked team in Xenia Legacy Christian and other strong squads like Greenon.

“We beefed up our schedule considerably,” Murphy, who is in his third year, said. “The results haven’t been what we wanted in terms of a win-loss column, but overall the performances have been much better. It’s a big step in the right direction for this program, which the only three double digit-win seasons have been the last three seasons.”

Botkins will lose seven seniors to graduation, including Paul. The squad will also lose Chloe Pax, Reagan McPheron, Aubree Topp, Ava Woodruff, Grace Wiseman and Zoie Longbrake.

“They’re seven girls who worked their ass off night after night after night. They’ve put in the work,” Murphy said. “It’s going to be a big loss not only going into next year, but leadership wise off the field. Those girls are going to be so successful beyond high school and beyond soccer.

“… They’ve worked their ass off the last four years to change the narrative of this program, and they’ve done it.”

The Trojans had several shots, including one by sophomore Addison Blindauer right before halftime, but couldn’t get any across.

Murphy said Anna’s smaller field is a tough place for opponents.

“They drop everybody back on this field, and that’s why they’re so successful here,” Murphy said. “It’s small, it’s tiny, and they can drop people back, park the bus. They do a pretty good job. Their center backs played a lot better today than the first game that we played them, and that helps out a lot.”

Anna will hope for more success on its home field against No. 11 Brookville (10-6-2) in Monday’s district semifinal.

The Blue Devils have won four straight, including a 2-1 win at Miami East on Thursday. They play in the same Southwestern Buckeye League Division as Waynesville, which won the D-III state title in 2021 and finished as runner-up last year.

Anna beat Miami East 1-0 on Oct. 12 in Anna.

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