Back-to-back champs

BERNE — Two in a row.
Four in a row.
Six in a row.
No matter how you look at it, the Patriots are on a roll.
The Jay County High School girls soccer team’s 4-0 victory Saturday over South Adams finished off their second consecutive conference championship, marked the fourth straight shutout and resulted in their sixth consecutive win.
The Patriots are perfect since their season-opening 4-0 loss, and they blanked the Allen County Athletic Conference — Heritage (2-0), Woodlan (6-0) and the Starfires (4-0) — en route to a repeat.
“Our defense is stellar,” said JCHS coach Giles Laux, complimenting the starting group that includes Briana Muhlenkamp, Megan Smith, Emily Muhlenkamp, Alexus Liette and goalie Lilly Rogers. “They chatter, they get on each other, they encourage each other. … They’re going to expect a lot from each other, and they do.”
Those defenders shut down almost all of the opportunities for South Adams (4-4, 0-1 ACAC) and played a majority of the game near midfield. That allowed the Patriot offense to put the pressure on through most of the game.
Junior Breea Liette was the first to take advantage, giving Jay County (6-1) the only goal it would need less than eight minutes into the game. Her classmate Lucy Laux started the opportunity with a shot of her own. Nussbaum deflected the attempt from Laux, but it bounced toward the left side of the goal box and Liette was there to deflect it into the net.
The Patriots pushed their lead to 3-0 by halftime, and then Liette, Laux and another classmate — Sydnee Lee — teamed for the team’s final tally.
Lee, who came off the bench for Alexus Liette on defense, surprised South Adams with her flip throw-in from the defensive zone. Her toss sailed over most of the defense where Laux tracked it down and tapped forward. The pass left Breea Liette with a one-on-one opportunity, and she worked the ball to the right before sending a shot back to the left corner.
“That’s exactly what Sydnee plans to do when she gets the ball,” said Laux. “That one she did that resulted in a goal was phenomenal.
“That’s the advantage it can give us.”
While Jay County was frequently on the attack offensively, the Starfires had limited opportunities.
The best of those came in the opening minute of the second half when Lexi Dellinger, the team’s best offensive weapon throughout the game, hit a perfect corner kick from the right side. The ball got past Rogers to set up what looked to be an open opportunity for Starfire sophomore Ally Weaver, but Alexus Liette was able to clear the ball without incident.
Rogers saved the only official shot on goal, which came from Dellinger, as the Patriot defense denied the rest of South Adams’ opportunities before they got to the goalkeeper. Briana Muhlenkamp was key to that effort as over and over she thwarted attacks by tracking down loose balls or open Starfires.
“We just couldn’t convert today, and I thought No. 5 (Briana Muhlenkamp) on Jay County was the difference between three and four goals for us, really,” said South Adams coach Chad Mitchell. “She was the fastest one out there and it wasn’t even close.”
Jay County’s second goal of the game came just 1:10 after the first when Stormi Canterbury dribbled up the middle of the field, dodging three defenders before sending a high shot to the left corner of the net.
The third tally of the first half for the Patriots came when Hannah Phillips found Kendra Muhlenkamp open deep in the Starfire zone. The sophomore got a clean look at the ball and also scored to the left corner.
Breea Liette narrowly missed a hat trick in the second half when a shot caromed off the left post.
Liette and Muhlenkamp each now have four goals on the season, and Canterbury became the 10th Patriot to tally a goal this season. That balance, the coach said, has been key to the team’s winning streak and second ACAC crown.
“There’s a tremendous amount of teamwork out of every one of these girls,” said Laux. “This year has just been phenomenal. We just want to win. That’s all we want to do. We want to win.”