Lady Mustangs fall in district final match
Lead Summary
By
The Highland County Press-
ZANESVILLE — The Lynchburg-Clay Lady Mustang girls soccer team had their season come to an end Saturday afternoon in a 2-1 double shootout loss to West Muskingum in a Division III District Final match at WMHS.
"This was a disappointing end to a great season. It was the first time in eight trips to the district finals that the game was not played on a neutral field," LC coach Dennis West said. "We traveled 135 miles to play this match as the home team on West Muskingum's home field. I would hope that the OHSAA could do a better job of eliminating these long trips and find fields that are somewhere in the middle."
Lynchburg-Clay and WMHS were tied at 1-1 following regulation and two 15:00 overtime periods. The goals came at the 36:32 mark of the first half when LC's Brandi Hunter scored on a header off a cross-kick from Sydney Cromer. WM tied the match at one when Gabby Smith scored with 27:28 left in the second half.
"We struggled to get our offense going," West said. "The field was muddy from the 18 to the 18, and it really led to some very dangerous conditions. We were faster at almost every position, but the mud took that advantage away. Still, we played hard for all 110 minutes."
LC gained the momentum and kept it for most of the half following the first goal of the match. The Lady Mustangs scored a second goal a short time later, only to have it waved off by the center official.
"That was the first of many puzzling calls he made," West said. "I guess the 20 fouls against us compared to the four against West Muskingum would be the best evidence of what we had to overcome. Even with that, we had opportunities, and we just fell short."
LC and WMHS still were tied after their first shootout but ended up losing the shootout rounds by a combined score of 5-4 in shootout goals, as both teams made four goals in the first shootout.
LC keeper Emma Setty finished with 10 saves in 110 minutes of play. WM keeper Julia Gutridge also played all 110 minutes with 11 saves.
The Lady Mustangs wrap up the season at 16-3 overall. They scored 114 goals (not including the shootout) and allowed 10 goals this season, not including shootout goals.
"This was a magical season for the girls. The 10 freshmen fit right in with our 13 returning players to give us depth at every position," West said. "They worked as a team on and off the field. Coach Martin and I couldn't have asked any more from them."
West also spoke about his five seniors who played their final match for LC, who included: Molly Greenawalt, Brooke Hertlein, Karen Hilt, Alyssa Reynolds and Erin Rowlands.
"We will certainly miss our five seniors. They have a four-year record of 46-21-6 with three sectional championships, two second-place SHL trophies and the SHL Gold Ball this year," West said. "They have set a high standard for future teams."
The future is still bright for the Lady Mustangs.
"We do return 18 girls, including three of the top seven scorers in the SE district (Brandi Hunter led the SE district D3 with 27 goals). We applaud the seniors for their accomplishments and encourage the returning players to maintain the excellence."[[In-content Ad]]
"This was a disappointing end to a great season. It was the first time in eight trips to the district finals that the game was not played on a neutral field," LC coach Dennis West said. "We traveled 135 miles to play this match as the home team on West Muskingum's home field. I would hope that the OHSAA could do a better job of eliminating these long trips and find fields that are somewhere in the middle."
Lynchburg-Clay and WMHS were tied at 1-1 following regulation and two 15:00 overtime periods. The goals came at the 36:32 mark of the first half when LC's Brandi Hunter scored on a header off a cross-kick from Sydney Cromer. WM tied the match at one when Gabby Smith scored with 27:28 left in the second half.
"We struggled to get our offense going," West said. "The field was muddy from the 18 to the 18, and it really led to some very dangerous conditions. We were faster at almost every position, but the mud took that advantage away. Still, we played hard for all 110 minutes."
LC gained the momentum and kept it for most of the half following the first goal of the match. The Lady Mustangs scored a second goal a short time later, only to have it waved off by the center official.
"That was the first of many puzzling calls he made," West said. "I guess the 20 fouls against us compared to the four against West Muskingum would be the best evidence of what we had to overcome. Even with that, we had opportunities, and we just fell short."
LC and WMHS still were tied after their first shootout but ended up losing the shootout rounds by a combined score of 5-4 in shootout goals, as both teams made four goals in the first shootout.
LC keeper Emma Setty finished with 10 saves in 110 minutes of play. WM keeper Julia Gutridge also played all 110 minutes with 11 saves.
The Lady Mustangs wrap up the season at 16-3 overall. They scored 114 goals (not including the shootout) and allowed 10 goals this season, not including shootout goals.
"This was a magical season for the girls. The 10 freshmen fit right in with our 13 returning players to give us depth at every position," West said. "They worked as a team on and off the field. Coach Martin and I couldn't have asked any more from them."
West also spoke about his five seniors who played their final match for LC, who included: Molly Greenawalt, Brooke Hertlein, Karen Hilt, Alyssa Reynolds and Erin Rowlands.
"We will certainly miss our five seniors. They have a four-year record of 46-21-6 with three sectional championships, two second-place SHL trophies and the SHL Gold Ball this year," West said. "They have set a high standard for future teams."
The future is still bright for the Lady Mustangs.
"We do return 18 girls, including three of the top seven scorers in the SE district (Brandi Hunter led the SE district D3 with 27 goals). We applaud the seniors for their accomplishments and encourage the returning players to maintain the excellence."[[In-content Ad]]