Patriots fall to Fishers

The Tigers scored early. Then they did it often.
Jay County High School’s girls soccer team was at the losing end of a lopsided score Wednesday night, falling to the Class 2A No. 6 Fishers Tigers 7-0 in the regional semifinal in Logansport.
“We knew we were coming up against a team that has won a (sectional) championship so we wanted to make sure the first 10 minutes were the most aggressive 10 minutes,” said FHS coach Ben Beasley, whose team lost in the state championship game a year ago. “We’re thinking big term, we’re thinking long term and we’re hoping to play championship form for the rest of the tournament.”
Fishers (12-1-6) set the tempo from the get-go, finding the net just 92 seconds into the contest on a goal by Kennedy Turner. The Tigers continued to pepper Lilly Rogers with shots until Gretchen Mills’ blast deflected off the JCHS goalkeeper’s hands and into the side of the net in the fourth minute.
Rogers finished with nine saves.
Kylie Hohlt found Maryna Clark on a breakaway for the Tigers’ third goal in the ninth minute, and Brady Riley scored at the 9:38 mark.
“They are a very well-coached team,” said first-year Jay County coach Giles Laux, whose team finished with a 9-7 record. “(They’re) very well disciplined. They are just a phenomenal team from top to bottom.”
“They are well conditioned. When they put in backups, you couldn’t tell. They just picked up where (the starters) left off.”
The Tigers tacked on three more goals in the first half, as seven different players found the back of the net.
At halftime, Laux and his team shifted gears.
“The thing they wanted to do in that second half was not only play tougher, but remember how much fun they have playing the game and how much they love it,” Laux said. “I’m proud of them.”
For Beasley and the Tigers, the plan for the rest of the game was to keep possession while working on passing and ball-handling skills.
“We didn’t get behind them a whole lot,” Beasley said. “Coach (Laux) did a good job of adjusting.”
Jay County got its first shot on goal 42 seconds into the final half. Gabbie Mann, who scored the game-winning goal in the final minute of the sectional championship game Saturday against Yorktown, hit a left-footer from the top of the 18-yard box at Fishers’ backup goalie Alex Reibel.
She got another chance that missed wide eight minutes later, and sophomore Kayla Ferguson had a shot turned away in the final three minutes of the game.
Despite the few opportunities for the Patriot offense — it only recorded two shots on goal — Laux was pleased with the effort.
“They never do give up,” said Laux. “We talked about that before we got off the bus. One, we weren’t going to hang our heads no matter what happens. Two, we weren’t going to quit or give up. We haven’t done it all season and we weren’t going to do it (Wednesday).”
The second half for the Patriots was about their seniors — Lexi Myers, Catherine Dunn, Sarah Newton, Carmen Lopez, Chelsea Mock and Emily Pogue. All six were on the field after halftime.
“We talked about our seniors,” he said. “Our goal for the second half was not only to have fun, but to give 110 percent to let our seniors know that when we left the field, we left it all on the field.”