Jay shuts out Southside

The Patriots’ persistence paid off.
Jay County controlled the ball for almost the entire game Saturday and fired more than 30 shots as it dominated the Muncie Southside Rebels 7-0.
“It was a great game,” said JCHS assistant coach Tracy Muhlenkamp after the Patriots improved to 7-6 with their fifth win in the last seven games. “We dressed the whole sectional lineup again and got them all in. They all got legit playing minutes.
“We had different looks, different lineups all over the place.”
With the exception of a few brief moments after kickoffs, Jay County kept the ball on its offensive end of the field until the final 10 seconds of the opening half and kept constant pressure on the Rebel defense.
Four different players scored for the Patriots in the first 40 minutes, with freshman Mariah Bailey putting the first goal on the scoreboard. She was there with a follow-up at the 33:45 mark after a shot by Sammi Compton was saved by goalie Erica Douthitt and another by Catherine Dunn deflected off a defender.
Dunn, who scored on a pair of penalty kicks Tuesday in a 4-0 win over Delta, earned herself another when she drew a foul in the 18-yard box with 20:27 on the clock. She again made the shot count as it deflected off of Douthitt’s left hand and into the right corner for a 2-0 lead.
Less than a minute later Tristen Reffitt worked the ball up the right side and then passed to Gabbie Mann, who scored from about 20 yards out with a shot inside the right post. And with 10:30 left in the half, Emma Laux scored off of a corner kick from Dunn.
Reffitt was one of the group of reserves who saw significant playing time as the Patriots played their entire sectional roster with the exception of Ericka Reynolds and Lacy Chowning, who were held out of the game because of minor injuries.
“I thought Tristen played a great game,” said Muhlenkamp. “The defense, we had a totally different lineup in there with Olivia (Braun), Chelsea Russell and Hannah Fifer
“Pushing Andrea (Bruggeman) and Amber (Huelskamp) up front is something we like to see. They did well up there. I think everyone played really well.”
Huelskamp’s move up front produced her first goal of the season in the second half on another play started by Reffitt. The sophomore passed up the right side to Andrea Bruggeman, who sent a crossing pass into the box where Huelskamp tapped it in for the score.
Dunn and Mann (four shots on goal apiece) each picked up their second goals of the game after the intermission. Dunn scored on a shot from 20 yards out to the left corner at the 31:52 mark, and Mann lofted a high shot also from 20 yards out with 28:09 on the clock.
“That’s exactly what we need for sectional,” said Muhlenkamp of the scores from Dunn and Mann, who share the team lead with eight goals this season. “That’s what we talked about at halftime. We needed to see sectional shots. … I was very proud that they got those two shots in the second half.”
Southside was limited to just a couple of scoring opportunities, both of which came in the final 10 minutes. Whitney Vance had a breakaway up the middle only to have her shot go wide left, and Morgan Coates’ shot with 2:38 remaining was saved by the Patriots’ Emily Pogue.[[In-content Ad]]