Jay wins thriller

YORKTOWN — To send Jay County back to the sectional championship, all Lilly Rogers had to do was make a stop.
The sophomore goalkeeper had already made one save in the overtime penalty kicks, and making another on Delta’s Bailee Allen would give the Patriots a chance to defend their title.
With her heels on the goal line, Rogers jumped to deny Allen’s attempt, sealing a 2-1 (4-3 PKs) victory over the Eagles for Jay County on Tuesday at Yorktown Sports Park.
The win set up a rematch with Yorktown at 7 p.m. Saturday for the sectional title.
The Class 2A Sectional 15 tournament host Tigers defeated Muncie Central earlier in the evening, 5-1, with the game delayed for 30 minutes because of lightning with 8:49 left in the first half.
Yorktown beat Jay County, the defending sectional champion, during the regular season, 3-1 on Sept. 25.
“It feels absolutely amazing,” said Rogers, who was mugged by her teammates after making the game-winning save shortly before 10:30 p.m. “I don’t know how I did it, but I’m really glad I did.”
Rogers knew what Allen was going to do all along — it was just a matter of executing.
“The first one I was just thinking I was going to have to watch her hips to know where she goes,” Rogers said of her first save on Angie Naaman. “The second one gave it away with her eyes which way she was going. I just had to jump to get it.”
Catherine Dunn scored the Patriots’ first penalty-kick goal and had to watch the rest unfold from midfield.
But as Allen approached her shot, the senior captain knew Rogers would come through.
“Honestly, there is no feeling that can describe how … all of us were feeling,” she said of Rogers’ save. “That is just one of those times where everything going on is just indescribable, and then as soon as (Allen) took the shot everyone just hoped for the best.
“We all believe in Lilly though, and we knew that if we needed her to really come through then she would do it for us.
“It was an adrenaline rush at its finest.”
Jay County (8-5) and the Eagles (6-8-1) traded scores through the first two rounds of penalty kicks, with Dunn and Mariah Bailey scoring for the Patriots, and Kyndall Pursley and Delaney McCaslin notching goals for Delta.
Alli Ruiz beat Delta goalkeeper McCaslin in the third round, and Rogers made the stop on Naaman to give the Patriots a 3-2 advantage.
JCHS senior Carmen Lopez had her shot stopped by McCaslin, and Morgan Sizemore beat Rogers to tie it at 3-3 after four rounds.
Gabbie Mann, who scored the lone goal in regulation for Jay County just 30 seconds into the contest, went to the right side of the net to beat McCaslin, setting the stage for the final save by Rogers.
“I (said) at the beginning of the year she’s one of the best,” JCHS coach Giles Laux said of his goalkeeper, who gave the Patriot shooters words of encouragement before going out for the free kicks. “Every game she gets better and better. She made two tremendous stops.”
But it wasn’t just overtime when Rogers came up with big saves.
Delta didn’t let the early deficit get its spirits down, as the Eagles peppered Rogers with scoring chances the entire game.
Nearly 12 minutes after Mann notched her team-leading 29th goal of the season, Jay County and Delta traded chances that went unfinished.
On multiple occasions, crossing attempts into the box from the wings were just out of the reach of players crashing the net.
Delta finally broke through about four minutes into the second half, when Allen took a right-footed shot from the top of the 18-yard box to the left of the net.
Rogers, who had 14 saves on the night, was slightly out of position and wasn’t able to make the stop.
Even after Allen’s equalizer, both teams pushed to get the game-winning goal.
Jay County, which beat the Eagles 5-0 Sept. 23, poured on the chances in the final 20 minutes of the game, spraying McCaslin with shots from all angles, but none of them were able to find the back of the net.
“I can’t say anything bad about that kid,” Delta coach Jacci Glancy said of her senior goalkeeper. “That kid is one of the best people I’ve ever met. Just her character is phenomenal.
“She played her heart out there. As a senior she came up big.”
Even in the two, seven-minute periods of extra time, Jay County still held the offensive advantage.
The Eagles were without a scoring opportunity in the extra 14 minutes, compared to the Patriots’ seven chances.
Laux, Jay County’s first-year coach, praised the defense for keeping the Eagles at bay in extra time.
“(They) played with a lot of heart,” Laux said of his back line, led by seniors Lexie Myers and Sarah Newton. “I can’t say enough about them.”
It was Rogers who gave the 10 players in front of her the most credit.
“The team did absolutely amazing,” she said. “I don’t think I got a workout compared to what I could have had.
“I wouldn’t be able to do anything without the defense, the midfield and the offense keeping the ball up.”