Done in one

NEW CASTLE — Almost all of the Huskies’ passes were from one foot to another.

Often times they were hitting teammates in stride, or on a give-and-go down one side of the field.

Even the crosses from deep in the offensive zone seemed to find the players in the white kits.

Possession helped the Huskies create chances.

Maria Mitchel converted almost all of her opportunities.

The Jay County High School girls soccer team was left chasing the Huskies around the pitch and Mitchell scored her first career hat trick as the as the Patriots had their season end with a 5-0 loss to Hamilton Heights in the Class 2A Sectional 24 tournament opener Tuesday night.

“We knew coming in that we were going to be playing a good team,” said JCHS coach Renae Laux, whose team ends the year at 9-5. “We prepared for it the best we could. I am proud of the girls’ effort. I thought they stayed in the game as far as mentally; they didn’t get overwhelmed.”

It marks the fourth consecutive season Jay County had its year end in the first sectional game after losses to Yorktown in 2016 and ’18 as well as a setback to Hamilton Heights in 2017.

The Huskies (11-2-4), meanwhile, advance to the sectional semifinal Thursday against Delta.

Mitchell, a junior who entered the game with seven goals on the season, tallied the only goal Hamilton Heights needed in the 13th minute. Emma Hall sent a corner kick from the right side and Mitchell one-timed it into the net.

Following another corner four minutes later, Mitchell notched her second tally on a loose ball that ended up deflecting off a Jay County defender.

She completed the hat trick in the 36th minute on an assist from Jenna Peterson, who made it 4-0 with a goal just 46 seconds after Mitchell’s third.

“She has worked all year on her touches, her shots, taking advantages of opportunities like that,” Hamilton Heights coach Travis Kaufman said of Mitchell. “She just has an awareness of the field, where to put (herself) to anticipate a pass so she can make things happen.

“You work to make your own luck, so she works to make those opportunities there.”

It wasn’t just Mitchell who was giving the Huskies those chances. They possessed the ball flawlessly, executing the triangle passing strategy throughout the length of the field. The midfielders and forwards were making runs off the ball down the sideline to get open, and the ball-handlers were hitting them in stride.

And the few times the Patriots were able to control the ball — they only had one chance offensively during the first half — the Huskies sniffed it out and flipped the field the other way.

“We weren’t surprised they possessed the ball a lot,” Laux said. “We were expecting that. We were just hoping that some of our possessions on offense would get us where we needed to go.”

One key hit Jay County’s offense suffered was an ankle injury to senior midfielder Mikele Suman. She went down less than four minutes into the game, and later tried to continue but did not play the final 60 minutes as what turned out to be the final game of her career ended prematurely.

“Honestly, I feel like the girls handled it very well,” Laux said. Anhely Montes, Halle Hill, Cheyenne Liette, Allison Jobe, Mackynzie Fairchild and Leah Hamilton had their high school careers end as well. “Of course it changed the game for us just because of her presence on the field because she’s a staple of ours.

“I feel like they just didn’t let (her absence) take over their mind. They obviously care about their teammate but I feel like they were able to keep their heads in it and I tip my hat to them for that because it’s not easy to do.”