August 30, 2017 at 5:24 p.m.
Patriots secure third title
Patriots hold off Starfires to secure ACAC title
Patriots secure third title
Copyright 2017, The Commercial Review
All Rights Reserved
The Patriots’ run through the Allen County Athletic Conference has mostly been a breeze over the course of the last three seasons.
The Starfires made sure that pattern would not continue.
South Adams High School’s girls soccer team got on the board first Tuesday, and after falling behind kept nipping at the home team’s heels. But Jay County was able to respond to each Starfire salvo as it secured its third consecutive Allen County Athletic Conference championship with a 5-3 victory.
The Patriots have won 10 conference games in a row on the way to their three straight titles.
“It’s a great feeling,” said JCHS senior Alex Bader. “The first year, we lost it to Leo. And then the past two years, we’ve come out on top. So it just felt good to get a new win with new girls on the team and have them experience it as well.
“We have a great group of girls.”
The loss dropped SAHS to 5-3 on the season and 0-1 in the conference, but was still a positive step. Coach Chad Mitchell pointed out that the Patriots (6-0, 3-0 ACAC) had not given up more than a single goal against an ACAC opponent since 2014.
Jay County coach Giles Laux agreed that the Starfires put up a strong fight, complimenting the speed and skills of Lexi Dellinger and Madi Smith up front and the work Jenna Myers did between the posts.
“They played very well,” he said. “I felt in the first half, they out-hustled us, for sure. We discussed that at halftime.”
Dellinger, a senior, got South Adams on the board first less than five minutes into Tuesday’s contest, and she pulled her team to within one late when she sent a direct kick from 25 yards out high to the left corner of the net. Her second goal of the game gave the Starfires life with 3:30 remaining, but Kendra Muhlenkamp soon snuffed it.
As her older sister Briana marked Dellinger in order to try to keep the ball off the Starfire speedster’s feet, Kendra Muhlenkamp beat defenders Josie Hall and Anna Nussbaum just outside the 25-yard box on the left side.
With no one left between her and Myers, Muhlenkamp fired a shot to the right corner to lock up the Patriots’ win and the conference title with just over a minute to play.
“It’s always the first (goal) on our list because we play our (conference) teams so early,” said Laux. “Now we move forward — we’ve got the ACAC under our belt — and focus on Thursday night with Norwell.”
Key to the victory was the Patriots’ quick response after South Adams nabbed the early lead. It took them less than three minutes to pull even, when Kendra Muhlenkamp took a pass from Breea Liette behind Haley Gerber and Nussbam and tapped a grounder back to the right corner.
Kendra Muhlenkamp then set up the goal that put Jay County ahead for good, taking a pass from Hannah Phillips and sending a cross in to Lucy Laux.
Laux seemed to consider a shot but instead kept the ball moving with another pass to Liette on the right side. The senior fired high to the right corner past a diving Myers for a 2-1 lead with 29:37 on the clock.
“It really can’t be (an issue),” said Giles Laux of the early deficit. “Our T-shirts last year said it: ‘We may win. We may lose. But we will never be defeated.’ That’s pretty much the way you have to play the game. You have to just keep working it, keep trying your best and things and momentum will swing. …
“We just keep pushing forward. …
“That means a lot to a team, mentally, to be able to not hang your head and just refocus on what you need to do to get the job done.”
Lucy Laux extended the Patriots’ lead to 3-1 at the 23:05 mark, only to have Kayla LeFever close the gap when she followed a Dellinger shot that ricocheted off the crossbar five minutes into the second half.
Laux pushed the lead back to two goals at the 26:10 mark, and the score remained 4-2 until Dellinger and Kendra Muhlenkamp traded scores in the final minutes.
All Rights Reserved
The Patriots’ run through the Allen County Athletic Conference has mostly been a breeze over the course of the last three seasons.
The Starfires made sure that pattern would not continue.
South Adams High School’s girls soccer team got on the board first Tuesday, and after falling behind kept nipping at the home team’s heels. But Jay County was able to respond to each Starfire salvo as it secured its third consecutive Allen County Athletic Conference championship with a 5-3 victory.
The Patriots have won 10 conference games in a row on the way to their three straight titles.
“It’s a great feeling,” said JCHS senior Alex Bader. “The first year, we lost it to Leo. And then the past two years, we’ve come out on top. So it just felt good to get a new win with new girls on the team and have them experience it as well.
“We have a great group of girls.”
The loss dropped SAHS to 5-3 on the season and 0-1 in the conference, but was still a positive step. Coach Chad Mitchell pointed out that the Patriots (6-0, 3-0 ACAC) had not given up more than a single goal against an ACAC opponent since 2014.
Jay County coach Giles Laux agreed that the Starfires put up a strong fight, complimenting the speed and skills of Lexi Dellinger and Madi Smith up front and the work Jenna Myers did between the posts.
“They played very well,” he said. “I felt in the first half, they out-hustled us, for sure. We discussed that at halftime.”
Dellinger, a senior, got South Adams on the board first less than five minutes into Tuesday’s contest, and she pulled her team to within one late when she sent a direct kick from 25 yards out high to the left corner of the net. Her second goal of the game gave the Starfires life with 3:30 remaining, but Kendra Muhlenkamp soon snuffed it.
As her older sister Briana marked Dellinger in order to try to keep the ball off the Starfire speedster’s feet, Kendra Muhlenkamp beat defenders Josie Hall and Anna Nussbaum just outside the 25-yard box on the left side.
With no one left between her and Myers, Muhlenkamp fired a shot to the right corner to lock up the Patriots’ win and the conference title with just over a minute to play.
“It’s always the first (goal) on our list because we play our (conference) teams so early,” said Laux. “Now we move forward — we’ve got the ACAC under our belt — and focus on Thursday night with Norwell.”
Key to the victory was the Patriots’ quick response after South Adams nabbed the early lead. It took them less than three minutes to pull even, when Kendra Muhlenkamp took a pass from Breea Liette behind Haley Gerber and Nussbam and tapped a grounder back to the right corner.
Kendra Muhlenkamp then set up the goal that put Jay County ahead for good, taking a pass from Hannah Phillips and sending a cross in to Lucy Laux.
Laux seemed to consider a shot but instead kept the ball moving with another pass to Liette on the right side. The senior fired high to the right corner past a diving Myers for a 2-1 lead with 29:37 on the clock.
“It really can’t be (an issue),” said Giles Laux of the early deficit. “Our T-shirts last year said it: ‘We may win. We may lose. But we will never be defeated.’ That’s pretty much the way you have to play the game. You have to just keep working it, keep trying your best and things and momentum will swing. …
“We just keep pushing forward. …
“That means a lot to a team, mentally, to be able to not hang your head and just refocus on what you need to do to get the job done.”
Lucy Laux extended the Patriots’ lead to 3-1 at the 23:05 mark, only to have Kayla LeFever close the gap when she followed a Dellinger shot that ricocheted off the crossbar five minutes into the second half.
Laux pushed the lead back to two goals at the 26:10 mark, and the score remained 4-2 until Dellinger and Kendra Muhlenkamp traded scores in the final minutes.
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