Second-half scoring sends Hillsboro Lady Indians to sectional finals
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
Under the lights at Hillsboro High School, the Hillsboro Lady Indians shone bright in the second half as two goals by sophomore Brooke Ulicny tied the game, then sent the host Lady Indians to a 2-1 sectional semifinal win in the Division II SE District bracket Tuesday.
With the win, Hillsboro moves to 9-8-0 overall this season and now will play on Saturday at Unioto (11 a.m.), with the Lady Shermans being the No. 2 seed in the tournament.
The loss dropped Athens to 5-10-0 overall.
“We switched things at halftime where we put three at top and had only one center-mid, so we could get more movement up top. We wanted to have more strikers to hold the ball on offense, and it ended up working and worked really well to get two goals,” said HHS head coach Amanda Miller, who also earned her first tournament win as head coach. “We moved Hannah Holland up to the top with Brooke Ulicny and Layla Zugg.
“Our center-mid was Sami Blair and she was distributing the ball well, and outside mid was Sydney Lanning and Brynn Bledsoe. This win means a lot to us. The girls, I’ve asked a lot of them this year, and they’ve really stepped up and come together as a team.”
The sectional semifinal match at HHS saw both teams battle to a scoreless tie in the first half as the Lady Indians had issues placing the ball in the back of the net, with their shots landing just off target as they battled wet field conditions due to the rain in the area the past two days.
The same could be said about the Lady Bulldogs, as Athens also had opportunities to score goals in the first half.
HHS began the second half the same way with shots not being on target, but for Athens, they took advantage of a slight miscue by the Hillsboro defense with 31:37 left in regulation by scoring a goal for a 1-0 lead.
The Athens defense continued to make stops against Hillsboro, but near the halfway point the Lady Indians finally broke through the defense of Athens and tied the score at 1-1. The goal came when Ulicny took the ball downfield to the box and sent the ball into the back of the net past the keeper for a 1-1 score.
Ulicny battled double and triple coverage every time she gained possession of the ball, as each shot she attempted seemed to have defenders race in her direction.
That didn’t matter, as with 1:17 left in the match Ulicny gained possession of the loose ball, and with a defender in front of her, sent the ball to the keeper. As the keeper stretched out, the ball hit the top bar and went into the net for the game-winning goal.
“Brooke has a feel for being able to take on defenders and get out of the big clusters and score a goal,” Miller said.”
Miller spoke about how her team was able to adapt to what was needed and how proud she was of her team as well.
“Our girls adapted very well with our changes we made in the second half,” Miller said. “We were able to switch. They knew what to expect, we’ve worked on it, and they knew if there was a chance we would need more movement up top, we would make that switch on the fly. The girls played a really solid game, and I’m proud of them.”
The goal by Ulicny sent the Lady Indians to the aforementioned 2-1 win and to the sectional finals for a second straight year. Ulicny now has 52 points this season with 24 goals and four assists.
Also for HHS this season, Hannah Holland is second in goals scored with 10 goals and four assists. The assists leader this season is Brynn Bledsoe with nine assists.
Keeper Mackenzie Dietrick has 129 saves this season.
“Our defense played a solid game, and we had one little breakdown from a foul and they scored a goal, but other than that, our girls played a solid game of defense,” Miller said. “The girls really pulled together and played as a team back there, which is something we’ve been working really hard to do.
“This is Kenzie’s first year playing goalie, and she has been coming out and playing amazing. She’s really working hard. Our sweeper Zinny Adams, she is the heart of our defense.”
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With the win, Hillsboro moves to 9-8-0 overall this season and now will play on Saturday at Unioto (11 a.m.), with the Lady Shermans being the No. 2 seed in the tournament.
The loss dropped Athens to 5-10-0 overall.
“We switched things at halftime where we put three at top and had only one center-mid, so we could get more movement up top. We wanted to have more strikers to hold the ball on offense, and it ended up working and worked really well to get two goals,” said HHS head coach Amanda Miller, who also earned her first tournament win as head coach. “We moved Hannah Holland up to the top with Brooke Ulicny and Layla Zugg.
“Our center-mid was Sami Blair and she was distributing the ball well, and outside mid was Sydney Lanning and Brynn Bledsoe. This win means a lot to us. The girls, I’ve asked a lot of them this year, and they’ve really stepped up and come together as a team.”
The sectional semifinal match at HHS saw both teams battle to a scoreless tie in the first half as the Lady Indians had issues placing the ball in the back of the net, with their shots landing just off target as they battled wet field conditions due to the rain in the area the past two days.
The same could be said about the Lady Bulldogs, as Athens also had opportunities to score goals in the first half.
HHS began the second half the same way with shots not being on target, but for Athens, they took advantage of a slight miscue by the Hillsboro defense with 31:37 left in regulation by scoring a goal for a 1-0 lead.
The Athens defense continued to make stops against Hillsboro, but near the halfway point the Lady Indians finally broke through the defense of Athens and tied the score at 1-1. The goal came when Ulicny took the ball downfield to the box and sent the ball into the back of the net past the keeper for a 1-1 score.
Ulicny battled double and triple coverage every time she gained possession of the ball, as each shot she attempted seemed to have defenders race in her direction.
That didn’t matter, as with 1:17 left in the match Ulicny gained possession of the loose ball, and with a defender in front of her, sent the ball to the keeper. As the keeper stretched out, the ball hit the top bar and went into the net for the game-winning goal.
“Brooke has a feel for being able to take on defenders and get out of the big clusters and score a goal,” Miller said.”
Miller spoke about how her team was able to adapt to what was needed and how proud she was of her team as well.
“Our girls adapted very well with our changes we made in the second half,” Miller said. “We were able to switch. They knew what to expect, we’ve worked on it, and they knew if there was a chance we would need more movement up top, we would make that switch on the fly. The girls played a really solid game, and I’m proud of them.”
The goal by Ulicny sent the Lady Indians to the aforementioned 2-1 win and to the sectional finals for a second straight year. Ulicny now has 52 points this season with 24 goals and four assists.
Also for HHS this season, Hannah Holland is second in goals scored with 10 goals and four assists. The assists leader this season is Brynn Bledsoe with nine assists.
Keeper Mackenzie Dietrick has 129 saves this season.
“Our defense played a solid game, and we had one little breakdown from a foul and they scored a goal, but other than that, our girls played a solid game of defense,” Miller said. “The girls really pulled together and played as a team back there, which is something we’ve been working really hard to do.
“This is Kenzie’s first year playing goalie, and she has been coming out and playing amazing. She’s really working hard. Our sweeper Zinny Adams, she is the heart of our defense.”
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