Lynchburg-Clay takes sectional title in dominant effort over Chesapeake

DODSONVILLE — The start of the 2023 postseason for the No. 1 seeded Lynchburg-Clay Lady Mustangs soccer team once again began with a dominant win on Wednesday night, defeating visiting No. 16 seeded Chesapeake, 11-0 in one half of soccer at LCHS.

The new rule starting for the ‘23 postseason is once a team is ahead by eight or more goals by halftime or anytime in the second half, the game is ruled final, and that was the case in the Division III SE District Sectional Final game on Wednesday.

“These first-round games are tough,” Lynchburg-Clay head coach Dennis West said after the game. “You've got a team that had a rough season usually. [Chesapeake] is young there, they don't have a lot girls, but you know, they come out and play, and give them credit for that.”

LCHS opened the postseason with a goal by Aubrey Slack less than one minute into the game (39:12) as Slack scored off a cross kick, with the assist going to Jade Massey for the one-goal lead.

Less than two minutes (37:46) after the first goal, Reese Ruble scored a goal for LCHS, as the unassisted goal was scored off a ball that bounced off the Chesapeake keeper.

The LCHS lead went to three goals with a goal by Allie Waits, which was assisted by Brya McClain at the 36:50 mark of the first half, with the goal coming off a cross kick.

Massey then scored the next three goals for the Lady Mustangs at the 36:10, 32:03 and 25:29 marks of the half with the first two assisted by Waits on thru balls, and the third goal assisted by Slack, as they beat the CHS defense for a 6-0 lead.

Next was an unassisted goal from Addie Downing at 13:34, followed by a goal from Olivia Van Fleet (also unassisted) with 3:06 left in the first half for an 8-0 lead.

The goals continued to add up for LCHS with Massey scoring her fourth goal, an unassisted goal with 2:15 left in the first half, followed by a goal from Autumn Wilkin with 1:53 left, which was assisted by Lainie Lunsford.

LC’s final goal was Massey’s fifth of the game with .39 seconds left on the clock, off a cross kick, for the final 11-goal lead.

In all, LCHS took 32 shots, and their defense didn’t allow a shot taken in the sectional final game.

“We're playing really well right now,” West said. “This group has just meshed with one another all year long and might be one of the best teams I've ever had, for just team chemistry. It's just fantastic, and it's been that way all summer and clear through the season.

“They care for one another, and you see that out on the field by the way they play. There are no cliques. They just play well together, they get along well together, and as a coach, that means a great deal because you don't have to dwell on solving problems or dealing with egos or anything. There is none of that with this group.”

With the win, Lynchburg-Clay moves to 12-0-4 on the season. Last Wednesday, they clinched the outright Southern Hills Athletic Conference title with a conference record of 5-0-1 and continued the team’s no-loss streak of 92 consecutive games (85-0-7) in the SHAC, dating back to 2010.

“They all care for it, whether they make it known to me or verbalize it or not,” West said of the win streak. “They all know what is at stake every time we play a league game, and they have just brought out some of the best play this year in our league games.

“We’ve been in close games, and we have just kept our composure, and they just play at a high intensity clear through the game. That’s great."

Next for Lynchburg-Clay is a Division III SE District Sectional Semifinal game on Monday, Oct. 23 against No. 8 seeded Albany Alexander at 6 p.m. at Hillsboro. Alexander defeated No. 9 seeded South Point, 3-0 in their sectional final game on Wednesday.