SIDNEY — After arriving late due to a traffic tie up, the Franklin Monroe girls faced the state-ranked Lehman Catholic girls soccer team in a Division III sectional match.
And while Lehman outshot Franklin-Monroe 39-0 in a 7-0 victory, Lehman coach Jeremy Lorenzo was taking nothing for granted before the game.
Lehman will play Urbana in the sectional finals at 7 p.m. Monday at Franklin.
“You are always nervous at the first tournament game,” Lorenzo said. “You know you are going to get the other team’s best shot. And you know it is going to be emotional, because it is the seniors last time playing on their home field.”
And Franklin Monroe’s strategy — which was partially responsible for the difference in shots — was clear from the start.
Keep eight to nine players in the box to try and prevent Lehman from scoring.
“That is kind of what we were expecting,” Lorenzo said. “And we trained for it. In games like this, they are not really worried about scoring. They just want to keep it tied and maybe get a PK (penalty kick) to win.”
And while it took a little while for Lehman to get on the board, the Cavaliers foiled that strategy by going up 3-0 at halftime and adding four more goals in the second half.
It appeared Lehman had taken a 1-0 lead with 29:01 remaining when Molly Safreed scored after Franklin-Monroe failed to clear the ball — but Lehman was whistled for offsides.
Four minutes later, Lindsey Magoteuax broke the ice — taking a cross from Rylie McIver and putting it in the back of the net.
It become 2-0 at the 19:36 mark when Allison Bornhorst was fouled in the box and Grace Olding converted the penalty kick.
“It took us a little bit to score,” Lorenzo said. “But, that was a pretty good shot (by Lindsey Magoteaux) and then Grace (Olding) did a great job on the PK.”
There was just 2:32 left in the half when Ava Behr scored off a cross from Grace Monnin to make it 3-0 at the break.
“We went almost 20 minutes before we scored again,” Lorenzo said. “Then, we got the goal right before half. We talked about things at halftime and made some adjustments.”
Safreed and Monnin traded roles on the first two goals after the break.
Safreed scored off a Monnin assist with 31:58 to go in the game, then returned the favor — assisting on a Monnin goal at the 26:26 mark to make it 5-0.
Magoteaux scored a second goal off a second McIver assist with 10:25 to go and Liz Gibson capped the scoring on an assist from Grace Dexter.
Although they rarely touched the ball — Camille Brown and Hannah Giguere combined for the shutout in goal.
And while Lehman improved to 11-4-1 on the season, Lorenzo still saw plenty of room for improvement.
The Lady Cavaliers just missed on a number of scoring opportunities on the night.
“That has kind of been the story of our season,” Lorenzo said. “I know it seems strange to say we struggled a little on offense when we score seven goals, but when we have opportunities, we have to be able to finish.”
And now that Lehman has that first tournament win out of the way, Lorenzo looks to do exactly that on Monday against Urbana.
Anna 6, Indian Lake 0
Anna’s girls soccer team rolled to a win over Indian Lake in a Division III sectional opener on Thursday in Anna.
The Rockets jumped out to a 4-0 lead over Indian Lake and cruised to the victory. Taylor Noll and Kelsie McKinney scored two goals each for Anna, while Abby Gaydosh and Rylie Edwards added one goal each. Noll, Brooke Hemsworth, Michaela Ambos and Bre Tribbett each had assists, while goalkeeper Savanna Hostetler collected the shutout.
Anna (16-0), which is the No. 1 seed in the sectional, advances to face No. 18 Brookville (4-11-1) in a sectional final on Monday at Eaton.
Sidney 3, Tecumseh 1
Elaine Wiesenmayer and Kayli Smith scored goals in the second half to lift Sidney to a 3-1 lead over Tecumseh in a Division I sectional opener on Thursday in Sidney.
Wiesenmayer scored a goal in the first half to give Sidney a 1-0 lead, but Tecumseh tied it early in the second half.
Khia McMillen had two assists and Smith had one. Goalkeeper Carly Dean had five saves.
The Yellow Jackets, which are the No. 5 seed, advance to face No. 4 Troy in a sectional final on Monday at Springfield. The Trojans (12-4-1) beat Sidney (13-2-2) 1-0 in a Greater Western Ohio Conference match on Sept. 20.
Volleyball
St. Henry 3, New Knoxville 2
St. Henry won the last two sets 25-11 and 15-8 to win Thursday’s Division IV sectional match. The Redskins won the first set 25-15 and New Knoxville won the second 25-22 and third 25-17.
Tasia Lauth had 24 kills for New Knoxville. Faith Homan had 23 digs, Carly Fledderjohann had 40 digs and Tayler Doty had 13 kills and 17 digs.
The Rangers finish 12-12.
Luke Gronneberg | Sidney Daily News
Luke Gronneberg | Sidney Daily News
Luke Gronneberg | Sidney Daily News
Luke Gronneberg | Sidney Daily News
