Squaws shut out Jay Co. (09/16/04)

PORTLAND — Jay County defeated Delta for the first time in the history of the girls soccer program Tuesday. Next on the list of team’s it is looking to top is Bellmont, but it wasn’t going to happen Wednesday.

The Patriots held the Bellmont Squaws off the scoreboard for 25 minutes, but that was about as long as they could last in a 5-0 loss.

Bellmont (7-3) has been a thorn in Jay County’s side for several seasons. It has defeated the Patriots in each of the last two sectional championship games, becoming the latest team to stop them in a string of five straight sectional final losses.

Despite another defeat against the team which will be favored to win a third straight sectional championship, Jay County coach Sue Rager was encouraged bythe way here team played.

“I’d say this is probably one of the best games (we’ve played),” she said. “There at the end we were coming down and knocking on the door (for a goal). It just didn’t happen.”

Bellmont was exactly lighting up the scoreboard for a while either as the game went scoreless for the first 26:49. Freshman goalie Abby Loy made some great stops during that span, including a tremendous diving save at the left goal post at the 22-minute mark.

However, once the Squaws found the back of the net, they kept going there.

Valyssa Parrish scored the first of her four goals, dribbling through the right side of the defense and shooting past Loy to the left corner of the goal for a 1-0 lead with 13:11 on the clock.

She scored again less than three minutes later, picking up a deflected Liz Thatcher shot and slamming it just inside the left post. The sophomore got her hat trick before the first half was up, looping a 20-yarder over Loy’s head for a 3-0 lead at the intermission.

Bellmont tallied its final two goals in the first nine minutes of the second half, with Amy Butcher scoring on a breakaway before Parrish put the ball in the net for her fourth.

The Squaws took 21 shots on goal — eight by Parrish, who shot seven times in the first half. Several great Loy saves kept the score down — Bellmont is not unfamiliar with scoring in double digits — and Rager said the team seems to respond with the freshman behind them.

“The girls knew Bellmont was going to be a tough game tonight,” said Rager. “Having her back there really gives the defense confidence.

“She’s a seasoned goalie.”

The Patriots (3-4-1) had some chances to get the ball in the net, one off a corner kick by Jamie Bruggeman in the first half and two more on shots by Bruggeman and Brittany Logue in the second. But, they weren’t able to sneak the ball past Bellmont goal keepers Melissa Hammond and Alicia Hirschy.

Jay County also missed opportunities on a couple of penalty kicks. Bruggeman’s sailed over the crossbar five minutes into the second half, and Renae Laux’s did the same thing with just under five minutes remaining in the game.

Bruggeman took three of the Patriots’ seven shots on goal in the contest. Brittany Logue had two, and Sara Garringer, Jessica Heitkamp and Tequila Guntle each had one.

Now Rager hopes her team continues to play well to get a repeat of last season. In 2003, Jay County ran off four straight victories after its 9-0 regular-season loss to the Squaws.

“Our passing game tonight was the best I’ve seen (this year),” said Rager, who credited communication as the key to the improvement. “(Tuesday) night in the second half it started to gel. Tonight it just continued from there.”

The Patriots will host a soccer double-header Saturday, with the girls team playing Centerville at 10 a.m. and the boys game to follow at noon.[[In-content Ad]]