Quick strikes sink Bulldogs

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The Patriots needed nearly 15 minutes to get the offense going Tuesday.

Two days later, it took just 22 seconds.

Lucy Laux scored twice in less than 90 seconds as the Jay County High School girls soccer team kept its perfect record intact with a 3-1 victory over the Celina Bulldogs.

“It was crazy,” Laux said of her hot start. “We just started off super strong. The opportunity came to shoot and it just worked out.”

Jay County coach Giles Laux couldn’t have drawn up the start any better.

“Unbelievable,” he said. Jay County moves to 5-0 on the season and can wrap up the Allen County Athletic Conference championship Tuesday with a win at home against South Adams. “If someone told me that was going to happen I’d say ‘You’re crazy.’ Maybe during the second half, but to start the game … I was watching (Lucy) during warmups and her shots were falling. She was looking good. She said she felt great and it was one of those nights.”

Celina coach Calvin Freeman, whose team is two years removed from the OHSAA Division II state finals, was flabbergasted at the way the Bulldogs (0-1) started their season.

“Talk about shell-shocked,” he said. “Yes, we were in shell shock for the first 10 minutes.

“I take nothing away from their team. That is a good team we played. Lot of skilled players, lot of speed. They make nice traps. They have good crosses. They have good one-touches. It is nothing against that team at all. They played better than we did and they deserved to win.”

Lucy Laux said her father challenges the team to take shots from a distance, and that’s precisely what the senior forward did.

Laux sent a chip shot toward the net from about 25 yards away that Celina freshman goalkeeper Kennedy Henry got her hands on moments after the ball had tucked under the crossbar. Just 22 seconds into the game, the Patriots had a 1-0 advantage.

Less than a minute later, junior forward Kendra Muhlenkamp took a shot that Henry saved. A Celina defender tried to clear the ball toward midfield, and with Laux chasing the rebound the clearing attempt deflected off her shin guard and into the net.

Laux had her team-leading 12th and 13th goals a mere 1 minute, 17 seconds, into the game, and Jay County was out front 2-0.

“Kendra did her first shot there, I saw it come back so I just went for it,” Laux said. Five minutes later Freeman pulled Henry in favor of sophomore Chloe Russel.

In the 13th minute, Hannah Phillips followed Laux’s lead and fired a shot from long range to give Jay County a commanding 3-0 advantage.

Senior midfielder Alex Bader had the ball on the left side of the field and she sent a centering pass to Phillips. The junior rifled a shot from 30 yards away to the left side of the goal past Russell for her third tally of the year.

“Hannah had a gorgeous shot too,” Giles Laux said. “It was beautiful.”

After Celina got into a 3-0 hole, the field started to shift in its favor. The Bulldogs started to get more and more offensive opportunities, but their shots were either saved or off frame.

Celina finally broke the shutout about five minutes into the second half. Bailey Laux, one of two Bulldogs seniors, sent a cross pass toward the net from the left side. The ball bounced past JCHS goalkeeper Shelby Caldwell, and Bulldog junior Mya Lockwood was there for the goal.

“It was a tough ball to get to,” Giles Laux said. Caldwell finished with six saves. “Shelby played it great. It was just one of those things that squeaked in. Same shot, same play again, it doesn’t.”

In the final 10 minutes, Celina had more chances but wasn’t able to convert them. Twice the Bulldogs were whistled for being offsides. On the other occasion, freshman Makenna Klingshirn found herself deep in the Patriot zone in a one-on-one situation with Caldwell but her shot sailed over the crossbar.

“We didn’t execute,” Freeman said. “We just didn’t execute.”