Lynchburg-Clay Lady Mustangs shut out Hillsboro

HILLSBORO — Both the Lynchburg-Clay Lady Mustangs and Hillsboro Lady Indians battled tough in the first half, as each team put on a strong display of soccer that left the visiting Lady Mustangs ahead by two goals. 

The second half saw Lynchburg-Clay control most aspects of the final 40 minutes, where they eventually pulled away with two final goals, securing a 4-0 shutout non-conference win over the host Lady Indians Monday night at HHS. 

“They've got some really good kids, and we love playing up here,” LCHS head coach Dennis West said. “I mean, this facility is unbelievable. It's a great atmosphere, and we enjoy it.”

Each team had their moments of success in the first half, as the defense of HHS only allowed LCHS to score one goal in the first half. The second goal of the Highland County match was an own goal by the Lady Indians, which at the time put Lynchburg-Clay ahead by a 2-0 score with 7:07 left on the clock.

“I felt like the first half, we played great, we talked, we communicated and held the ball offensively,” HHS head coach Amanda Miller said. “We had some offensive runs. The first half, we played great, but the second half, I don't know if it was we had some mental breakdowns, but we struggled in the second half.

“We've seen a lot of improvement so far. We're very young, so we're learning every day, learning new positions. They're growing every day. If we can play the way we played the first half, we're going to have a positive season, and hopefully we can work things out. Like I said, we're very young.”

Lynchburg-Clay’s first goal of the game came with the first half clock reading 7:50, as senior Aubrey Slack scored a goal off a cross kick from junior Reese Ruble for the initial one-goal lead. 

After time expired in the first half and LCHS held a two-goal lead, in the second half it was the Lady Mustangs controlling the tempo of play more, with freshman Lily Layne scoring the third goal of the game for the Lady Mustangs — the first of her varsity career — off a long kick of 30-plus yards that bounced into the back of the net for a 3-0 lead with 36:02 left on the scoreboard. 

Lynchburg-Clay’s final goal was scored with 3:04 left in the match as Slack earned her second goal of the day, with the assist from Addy Cordrey, for the eventual four-goal win. 

“We have so many girls that are in positions they haven't had to be in for a number of years,” West said. “You look over the last two years, we've lost four All-Ohio kids, and we're still trying to figure out roles and who's going to step up in some of those roles, but we're getting there. 

“Tonight was a big step forward for us. We played against Minford, one of the top two or three teams in the Southeast District, Division V, and they are loaded. They are very tough to defend, and Saturday was a good match (LCHS lost 2-1). 

“We felt like we had some things that we should work on, and we're getting there,” West continued. “We've got the rest of this week off until Saturday, then a big match down at Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy, and that'll be a challenge for us too. We're all pretty well healthy and got everybody back and doing well.”

For the game, LCHS totaled 16 shots — with seven shots in the first half and nine shots in the second half — while the Lady Indians finished with three shots, including two in the first half. 

HHS keeper Phoebe Holland finished with two saves, and LCHS keeper Caitlyn Collins also had two saves. 

The win improves Lynchburg-Clay to 1-1 overall, and Hillsboro also moves to 1-1 overall this season. 

LCHS is scheduled to play again in a non-conference match on Saturday, Aug. 24 on the road against Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy at 11 a.m. 

Hillsboro is scheduled to play again on Thursday, Aug. 22 at home in a non-conference match against the Fairfield Lady Lions at 5 p.m.

BOX SCORE
LCHS    2 2 — 4
HHS    0 0 — 0 

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