BELLEFONTAINE — Botkins and Dayton Christian played a close game in regular season and did so again in a Division III district semifinal on Tuesday at Bellefontaine High School’s AcuSport Stadium.
Just like in regular season, the Warriors were able to nip the Trojans.
Botkins gave up a goal midway through the second half and couldn’t get a couple of late shots to go in and lost 1-0. The Trojans, which advanced to a state semifinal in 2019 and a regional final last year, finish 14-3-2 overall.
“They just stayed organized, and we just didn’t string passes together on the offensive end,” Botkins coach Kevin Lynch said. “… We knew exactly what we were going to do. We knew their forwards (Seth Thompson and Ethan Orme) were good and they play in the low block. We worked, and we just didn’t execute.
“We had a couple of chances in the first half, but we just couldn’t get that final pass. That’s so critical. I guess luck just wasn’t on our side tonight.”
Dayton Christian, which beat Botkins 2-1 in regular season, broke through on Tuesday with just under 24 minutes left in the second half.
Orme took a pass from Thompson along the right side behind Botkins defenders and sent a shot by Botkins goaltender Carson Motter, who was out of the box. The ball rolled by into the right corner of the goal.
Botkins had a couple of late shots but couldn’t get any in.
“I thought the defense stayed fairly organized overall,” Lynch said. “… (When they scored), we stepped when we shouldn’t have stepped, we didn’t have any pressure on the ball, we’re supposed to retreat and cut down the space behind us, and we just didn’t do it. No communication on the back line, and the kid made an angle run. Unfortunately, it only takes one play to end the season.”
Botkins will lose five seniors to graduation, including Xavier Monnin, who scored 25 goals in regular season. The squad will also lose Nathan Guckes, Brendon Thompson, Adam Hall and Devan Manger.
“I’m going to miss them,” Lynch said. “Some of them I’ve been coaching since they were 10, so I’ve seen them grow and grow and grow. They’re a great class. Nothing but props for them. …Obviously this year we’re going out a little earlier than we’re used to, but we lost a lot to graduation last year, and to put up the record we did, I think they did a very good job.”
• Volleyball
Russia 3, Fairlawn 1
The Raiders beat the Jets 25-16, 25-23, 23-25, 25-18 in a Division IV district semifinal on Tuesday at Troy High School’s Trojan Activities Center.
Russia (15-10) advances to face Tri-Village in a district final on Saturday in Troy.
Fairlawn finishes 17-7 overall.
No statistics were reported.
Jackson Center 3, Newton 0
The Tigers beat the Indians 25-11, 25-7, 25-15 in a Div. IV district semifinal on Tuesday in Troy.
Jackson Center (20-5) advances to face the winner of Miami Valley Christian Academy vs. Cedarville in a district final on Saturday in Troy. MVCA and Cedarville were scheduled to play Wednesday.
Shia Akers led the Tigers with 10 kills while Sarah Clark had nine. Morgan Kipker had four aces and Akers had three. Kipker had 17 assists. Ava Winner had 16 digs, Kipker had seven and Clark had six.
Fort Loramie 3, Yellow Springs 0
The Redskins won a Div. IV district semifinal 25-18, 25-15, 25-10 on Tuesday at Covington High School.
The Redskins (19-6) advance to face Middletown Christian vs. Cincinnati Christian in a district final on Saturday in Troy. Middletown Christian and Cincinnati Christian were scheduled to play Wednesday.
Skyler Albers led Fort Loramie with eight kills while Summer Hoying had seven and Ava Sholtis had five. Brooke Holthaus had four aces. Jenna Barhorst had 14 assists and Colleen Brandewie had 11.
New Bremen 3, Minster 0
The Cardinals won a Div. IV district semifinal 25-18, 25-20, 25-22 on Tuesday at Elida High School.
No. 1 seed New Bremen advances to face No. 2 New Knoxville on Thursday in Elida.
Kaylee Freund and Rianna Paul each led New Bremen (24-0) with nine kills while Melina Schrader had eight and Mia Schmitmeyer and Olivia Heitkamp each had seven. Keira Steininger had four aces and Amelia Dammeyer had three. Abi Powers had 12 digs, Dammeyer had nine and Paul and Schrader each had eight. Chloe Bornhorst had 17 assists and Schrader had 15.
Lilly Barhorst and Alyssa Niemeyer each had five kills for Minster while Megan Fortman, Kayla Lamm and Ella Mescher each had four. Fortman had three total blocks. Jayden Clune had 13 assists.
Minster finishes 10-15 overall.
