Patriot defense getting praise

The girls didn’t believe it, and they didn’t know what to say.
Wednesday during practice, four Jay County High School girls soccer players were shown three quotes.
 “I thought No. 5 on Jay County was the difference between three and four goals for us, really. She was the fastest one out there and it wasn’t even close,” the first one said.
The second: “We’ve played some really good teams this year and they’re one of the better ones that we’ve played. Jay County’s back four is very fast. Again, we played some good teams and their two center backs made it difficult on us.”
The final quote said, “Jay has let eight goals score all year. That is pretty tough. We talked about how good of a team they were coming in. They have girls that crash. They have a good team, they really do … They swarm you at the right time.”
After reading those quotes, the girls weren’t sure how to react. They smiled. They looked amongst themselves, wondering if what they just read were true. (It was.)
They looked at the reporter standing in front of them, waiting to find out who uttered those words.
Each of those quotes came from opposing coaches.
The first was after his team was shut out at home by the Patriots. The second was following a 3-2 victory, just one of two losses this season for the Patriots. The third was Thursday, after Jay County won 6-0 for its eighth win — and seventh shutout — of the season.
Then, the four girls were asked what they thought about what those other coaches had to say about them.
They were shy and they were quiet. But their responses were just as poignant as the way they play.
“It makes us feel really good, but we couldn’t do it without the people up top,” said senior Emily Muhlenkamp, humbled, deflecting the praise elsewhere.

The other three, seniors Megan Smith and Alexus Liette and junior Briana Muhlenkamp (she’s the No. 5 from earlier), couldn’t find the right words.
On the pitch, they are as vocal as they were in this interview — not at all. Their goalkeeper Lilly Rogers makes up for their tranquility.
They are the defense, the last line of hope between an opposing offense and Rogers. They draw players offside. They chase down through balls, cut down passes and disrupt set pieces.
They speak with their play on the pitch, rather than what comes out of their mouths.
And what they’ve been able to do this season is nothing short of impressive.
Eight wins. Seven shutouts. Eight goals allowed (half of them in the season opener).
On Aug. 20, Muncie Burris scored with 6 minutes, 55 seconds, remaining in the game (it was a 9-1 Jay County victory). The next goal the Patriots allowed was nearly a month later, Sept. 15, against Class 1A No. 6 Bellmont. The Squaws scored 22:46 into the game. Between the Burris goal and the tally from Bellmont, the Patriots had shut out four straight opponents and hadn’t allowed a goal in 349 minutes, 41 seconds.
Giles Laux, Jay County’s coach, was brief in his reaction to finding out his team had gone nearly six full hours of gameplay without giving up a goal.
“Wow.”
He was so surprised he said it twice.
With the score against Bellmont tied at 2-2, the Squaws scored with 12:18 left on the clock for an eventual 3-2 win.
Then a new streak began. The Patriots haven’t given up a goal since, shutting out Centerville 8-0 on Saturday and Delta 6-0 on Tuesday.
That’s another 172 minutes, 18 seconds and counting of scoreless soccer.
“They earn everything out there, the defense does,” Laux said. “They take pride in it. Just winning a game is one thing, when you shut a team out and you do it consistently, you see the teams getting frustrated. You know you’re playing the game right.”
Rogers agreed.
“It’s nice to see all the hard work we’ve put into this program, all the training we’ve put — especially on defense — showing while we’re on the field,” she said.
As for not getting a whole lot of work because her defense doesn’t allow many open looks?
“It has still been stressful because those are the games that make me nervous when I’m not having a lot of action,” she said. “I still have to stay on my toes and make sure the defense is doing exactly what they’re supposed to be.”
Like a football team’s trust in its starting quarterback, the four defenders and Rogers have developed confidence in one another after working together these last three seasons.
“We’ve been here all summer, we’ve been here every single day at practice,” Smith said. “I couldn’t do it without their motivation, determination and tenacity.”
Their newest scoreless streak will be put to the test at 5 p.m. tonight, as they travel to take on the Yorktown Tigers (4-6), who defeated the Patriots in the sectional title game last season.
Smith, who for one night Wednesday was the most talkative of the group, is awaiting the challenge.
“I want to shut them out,” she said. “I want to keep our shutout thing going on. They are a tough team. They have always played pretty tough.
“I’m not scared. I’m nervous. I should be and I am. Win or lose we are going to take something and learn from it.”
And if there’s one thing to learn from one streak of almost six hours, and now one of nearly three more, it’s this:
Another shutout won’t come as a surprise.