And then there was one… one Putnam County League Soccer team remaining on the state tournament path….
On Tuesday night we were sure one PCL team would advance to the District finals as Continental and Kalida Girls team battled in the Ottoville Division III District Semifinals. Continental had claimed the PCL title with a 6-0 win a couple of weeks earlier and hoped to do the same.
Action started fast and furious as both teams traded possession until the Pirates broke free at the 34:58 mark. A shot by Alex Hoeffel hit the crossbar and rebounded to an open Paige Lawhorn in front of the net. Lawhorn punched it in for a 1-0 Pirate lead. Following a Kalida try, a Pirate clearing pass was controlled by Hoeffel who beat the Wildcat defense and goalie for 2-0 Pirate advantage. The Pirates took a 3-0 lead when Lawhorn made a centering pass to Hoeffel who put it across the line. Half time Pirates 3, Wildcats 0.
The second half was all Pirates as Hoeffel made the hat trick for a 4-0 Pirate lead. Jaylen Armey put one in from the 12 for the games final goal at the 10 minute mark. Pirates 5, Wildcats 0. With a little over 5 minutes to go the Wildcats had a great goal opportunity snuffed out by Pirate goalie Ashley Mansfield to maintain the shutout.
Continental had a 15-4 advantage in shots. Goalie Ashley Mansfield made 4 saves in the shutout.
Continental is now 14-4 while Kalida falls to 6-8-4. The game was broadcast live on Zsportslive and on tape delay by WOSN. Rebroadcast of the game is on Thursday night at 7 pm.
The #1 seeded Pirates will play #3 seeded Lima Central Catholic on Saturday at 1 pm at Ottoville for the District crown. The Thunderbirds (11-4-4) won the regular season match with the Pirates 3-1 in early October.
Unofficially the Pirates have passed the 100 goal mark this season while giving up 20 goals.
–Mike Jones, Sportswriter
