A share of the Putnam County League Title was on the line Thursday for both teams when Continental visited Ottoville for a Girls Soccer match. Ottoville came out with playing 4 people back in an attempt to keep the Pirates offense at bay. That strategy worked well for most of the first half as the Pirates were limited to a couple of shots on goal early that the Big Green matched. With 6:41 Pirate Alex Hoeffel gathered up a loose ball and proceeded to dribble inside the Penalty box where her shot beat the Big Green goalie for the first score of the game. That was all for the first half. Pirates 1, Big Green O at halftime.
The second half had the Pirates offense go to work early as Hoeffel put in her second goal as she sent a rocket shot just outside the Penalty box past the Big Green goalie for the Pirates second goal of the night. With just over half the half gone it looked like the Pirates were going to put in goal 3 after numerous attempts on the goal highlighted by a Maddie Burke shot hitting the top of the goal post but the Big Green were able to clear the ball without additional damage. The Pirates put in the third goal as Addy Armey put in a shot inside the Penalty Box for the 3-0 lead. Hoeffel got an assist on this goal. The Pirates Hoeffel finished up the scoring as she put in another shot through the defenders from the 18 to make it 4-0 with 4:33 left in the game.
Continental outshot Ottoville 26-4. Pirate Goalie Angel Brzozowski had 2 saves. Continental had 4 corner kicks.
Continental is now 10-3-1 (PCL 3-0) and will host Kalida on Tuesday. A Continental win or tie means they claim the PCL crown outright, a tie would mean a shared title between the Wildcats and Pirates. Ottoville falls to 8-4 (2-2 PCL).
–Mike Jones, Sportswriter
