Jay, Bruins finish in tie (09/26/07)

HARTFORD CITY - Close games just have not treated the Patriots well.

Jay County High School's girls soccer team had a brief lead Tuesday evening.

Then they scored again what could have been the game-winning goal, only to have it waved off because of an offside call.

And in the end, they had to settle for a 2-2 tie against the host Blackford Bruins.

"Blackford is tremendously improved since last year," said JCHS coach Sue Rager, whose team is now 5-6-1 with two regular-season games left to play. "This is probably the fastest Blackford team I've ever seen, and best-skilled."

The Patriots, who will need to win at least one of their final two contests against Muncie Central and Delta to continue their run of seven straight seasons of .500 or better, have struggled in close games since upsetting the Norwell Knights 1-0 in late August. They are 0-4 in one-goal games in September, with the opposition scoring the game-winning goal the final two minutes twice. Their four victories other than Norwell this season have all come by wide margins, with Jay County outscoring Heritage, Connersville, Anderson Highland and Muncie Southside by a combined 22-3.

Jay County looked ready to end its close-game struggles Tuesday when it rallied from a 1-0 deficit to take the lead on Pazia Speed's tally midway through the second half. But the Bruins (4-6-2) needed just two minutes to pull even again and neither team could get on the board again.

The Patriots came closest with 14:04 remaining in the game when Speed sent the ball from the left side toward the right post. JCHS senior Dana Horn barely beat goalie Emily Willmann, knocking it toward the net as the two collided. With the ball right on the edge of the goal line Brianne Wellman charged in to slam it home. However, an offside call negated the score and neither team managed to convert the rest of the way.

"I would have been happier with a win, but we're happy with a tie," said Blackford coach Michelle Gross. "Jay County beat us 5-0 last year, so it's a big (change). I'm very happy with them. ... They're really pulling together."

After the Patriots trailed for more than 30 minutes in the first half, Speed finally gave them the lead at the 21:34 mark of the second half. Senior Cassandra Huelskamp and freshman Mallory Poole worked the ball up from the defensive end to Brianne Wellman, who then passed to Speed on the left side. She powered past Heather Dulworth of the Bruins and shot hard to the right corner for a 2-1 advantage.

But, that lead was short-lived as just 2:10 later Rachelle Enoch pushed through the JCHS defense. Her shot deflected off a Patriot defender and lofted high to the left corner and out of the reach of goalie Abby Loy.

"We wanted it. I was impressed with how quickly they could come back," said Gross. "I'm very proud of them. ... They knew they had to get it back and they reacted very well."

Blackford was also quick to take the lead at the start of the game, needing less than three minutes to do so.

Ali Norton started the play for that first score when she took control of the ball on Jay County's half of the field. She passed right to Karissa Whitesell, who then found Erin Gross in the goal box for the score.

The Patriots missed on several good opportunities to tie the game before Wellman stole the ball from Alexa Heiser on the throw-in. She took a couple of dribbles and fired and 18-yarder that ricocheted off the cross bar and into the left corner.

Jay County dominated the shots on goal for the game with 22, including 13 from Wellman. The Bruins finished with nine shots.

"Some of the kicks were too far out," said Rager. "They needed to pass to their teammates and needed to use each other more.

"The girls are just going to have to start communicating better and they're just going to have to work on their passing."

Gross said she was proud of the play from Willmann, a freshman, who recorded 20 saves.

"She is filling in for a senior who has a shoulder injury, and she has really stepped up," she said. "Being a freshman, first year, we couldn't have done it tonight without her. She's come a long way. She took some good knocks tonight trying to save that ball and was very aggressive."[[In-content Ad]]