Phillips, seniors deliver in win

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Karlie Bullard, Kendra Muhlenkamp and Hannah Phillips were playing at home for the final time.

Each provided plenty of offense, and provided the Patriots with another victory as they head into the postseason.

Phillips scored twice while the other two each had one goal Thursday, lifting the Jay County High School girls soccer team to a 4-0 win against former sectional rival Muncie Central Bearcats.

“We just played very well together,” said Phillips, one of five JCHS seniors — Klarisa Hemmelgarn, Shelby Caldwell, Bullard and Muhlenkamp the others. “We had some difficulty passing but we came (over) it and all formed together.”

That difficulty passing at times was just about the only thing the Patriots (9-3-2) struggled with on the night. They were in control for nearly all 80 minutes.

“We need to communicate a little more,” JCHS coach Giles Laux said. “We weren’t doing as many drops (passes) as we had opportunities to do. I think that’s a matter of communication, for one. We need a little more patience I think on offense.”

Jay County peppered Muncie Central goalkeeper Riley Stafford all night long. Muhlenkamp got a shot on net less than two minutes in, and the Patriots continued to pour it on the Bearcats.

In the 11th minute, Phillips put the Patriots on top 1-0. Bullard chased down a through ball on the right side of the field that appeared determined to cross the end line and go out of bounds. Instead she got to the ball before it reached the line and crossed it toward the goal. Phillips was waiting there and beat Stafford for her first goal.

Her last came late in the second half as Muhlenkamp’s initial shot was deflected by a Bearcat defender. The ball went to Phillips near the left post and she tapped it in to make it 4-0.

“Hannah’s last two or three games (she) has just stepped it up even more,” Laux said. Phillips finished the regular season with 13 goals, eight of which have come in the last four games. “She’s played well all season but seems to be the last three games she’s really found a new dimension to play.”

Phillips agreed there wasn’t a better way to cap her career at home.

“I think it ended pretty well,” she said.

After leading 1-0 at half, Jay County doubled its lead in the 49th minute as Muhlenkamp took the ball deep into the 18-yard box. Nearing the end line at the left side of the goal, she passed to her right and Bullard knocked it home for her 11th goal of the season.

Muhlenkamp also found the back of the net, her team-leading 24th goal of the season and the 59th of her career, breaking a tie with 2018 graduate Lucy Laux for second on the program’s career scoring list.

She had a chance for No. 60 nearing the end of the game but Stafford — she made 22 saves on the night — stopped her penalty kick after a hand ball in the box.

Muhlenkamp is now four goals shy of matching Gabbie Mann’s career record.

Hemmelgarn and her fellow defensive players kept the Bearcat offense in check, as Caldwell turned away the only shot on goal she faced.

Next up for Jay County is the sectional semifinal Oct. 4 against Yorktown at Hamilton Heights. The Patriots defeated the Tigers 5-2 Sept. 20, and are confident to play well against them again.

“They know they can do it,” said Laux, whose team has won four in a row. “They know we are a better team than them; we have the better team. The better team doesn’t always win. That is always in the back of your mind.

“They’re confident but we’re trying not to be overconfident.”