Jay pulls away

Copyright 2017, The Commercial Review

They weren’t down on themselves.

But after suffering back-to-back losses following a seven-game, season-opening win streak, the Patriots were anxious to taste victory again.

For 55 minutes, it seemed as if that might be a tall order. Then, the potent-scoring squad they had been all year showed up.

Jay County High School’s girls soccer team scored four times in the final 17 minutes Saturday, blowing open what was a tight game most of the way for a 6-1 victory over the visiting Centerville Bulldogs.

“It felt really good, and it gave, kind of like, a new hope,” said sophomore Mikele Suman, who was one of five Patriots to score a goal. “We weren’t down about our last two games but we knew we needed to get back to it. This really brought us back together again.”

JCHS, which entered the day averaging 5.7 goals per game, had won every contest by at least two goals before getting tripped up in a 3-2 loss Sept. 8 at Oak Hill. A four-goal loss to Class 2A No. 9 Bellmont followed Thursday.

“A win just feels really good after a loss,” said Karlie Bullard following the victory in which she and freshman Payton McCoy each scored their first career goals. “We weren’t really beaten down, we were just kind of disappointed about it, so we wanted to get back with a win.”

The win was in doubt most of the way the Bulldogs (5-2-3), whose only other loss came against Class 2A No. 5 New Palestine, got on the board first when Kyla Ray used her shoulder to deflect a direct kick from teammate Morgan Guenther into the net.

Jay County, which finished 17th in this week’s Indiana Soccer Coaches Association Class 2A poll voting, controlled the ball for most of the half and managed to pull even at the intermission, but its offense seemed out of sorts.

That changed in the final 40 minutes.

Senior Lucy Laux gave the Patriots the lead for good after Anhely Montes sent a long pass from midfield that kept going despite Centerville’s Abby Davis getting her head on it. Laux tracked down the ball and sent her shot high to the right corner to make it 2-1 with 24:35 remaining.

When Laux scored again — it was her team-best 19th goal of the season — at the 16:56 mark off passes from Hannah Phillips and Kendra Muhlenkamp, the flood gates opened.

“I think fatigue was a factor, but secondly, they switched it up,” said Centerville coach Logan Thompson, noting that Muhlenkamp didn’t come off the bench until about the 27-minute mark of the first half. “I could tell from the beginning they didn’t have their normal attacking (lineup). … That was part of it.

“I just want to give props over to Jay County. They’re a good team.”

Less than two minutes after Laux’s second goal, JCHS was awarded a free kick following a hand ball just outside the 18-yard box and wide of the right post. Bullard zipped a shot to the right side of the net, leaving goalie Cassidy Weiss no chance to stop it.

“I wasn’t really expecting it. I was just trying to kick the ball hard,” said Bullard, adding that she thought about shoot arounds during practice before taking the kick. “I just shot it and it went in and I was really excited.”

Suman’s goal was even longer as she launched a bomb from about 20 yards out near the right sideline. Her ball soared over Weiss to the left corner to give the Patriots a 5-1 advantage.

McCoy, who came off the bench late in the game, joined the scoring party with just 2:35 left. She fought off a couple of defenders for the ball inside the 18-yard box and sent a perfect shot that landed just inside the left post.

“We just needed to, I think, No. 1, wake up,” said JCHS coach Giles Laux, who also got a first-half goal from Muhlenkamp for her 18th of the year. “We’re not used to Saturday morning games … it’s just a different routine. …

“And I think, too, at halftime, we talked about stepping up a little more. The hustle game wasn’t there yet. Our passes were not snappy enough. And a little more communication.

“We cleaned all three of those things up and it made a big difference.”