Rebound victory

Aixa Lopez’s first shot didn’t make it into the net.

The same thing happened later where Lopez’s shot couldn’t get past Evelyn Gulley.

None of those problems were things that a good rebound couldn’t solve.

Kady Allred of the Jay County High School girls soccer team put back both of Lopez’s missed shots to secure the lead and help the Patriots pull away from the Blackford Bruins in a 5-2 win on Tuesday.

“One thing I said in my pre-game spiel was ‘In the first five minutes, we need to keep the momentum and show them how far we’ve progressed,’” said JCHS coach Kendra Muhlenkamp.

“It didn’t turn out that way. They scored on us quick. That threw me for a loop because I didn’t expect that.”

The Bruins (3-8-2) struck within the first four minutes by attacking the Jay County (10-5) defenders and making soft touch passes to each other. Freshman Hannah Jernigan created the scoring opportunity by poking the ball away before passing it off to Izzi Mays for the goal to the top left corner.

After the slow start, Jay County started to be more aggressive to the ball and dominate possession more to swing the game in their favor.

“I think the girls did very well in those first five minutes,” said BHS coach Michelle Gross. “Then I think they got in their heads. We’ve got some new players back from injury … I think getting their timing to click again helped (early on) and I don’t think that was there after those first few minutes.”

JCHS found a way to tie the game up 10 minutes later after Morgan DeHoff crossed the ball to Lopez, who got the ball in from 15 yards out.

Morgan DeHoff of JCHS breaks Destany Matura’s ankles during the Patriots’ 5-2 win over Blackford on Tuesday. DeHoff dished out two assists, pushing her to seven on the season, which is also most on the team. (The Commercial Review/Andrew Balko)

 

The game remained tied for the next 15 minutes, but the Patriots started to dominate control of the ball. They finally took the lead with 12 minutes, 56 seconds remaining in the first half.

Lopez sent a shot at the goal, but Gulley made the save without holding onto it. The ball rested right in front of the white line near the left post and Allred beat the Blackford goalkeeper to put the ball in.

“I was just looking to see if she got the ball and if the ball fell,” Allred said. “If it was there, I was able to get it.”

Prior to the game, Allred told Muhlenkamp that she had a goal of scoring at least one goal on the season. (Including Tuesday’s game, the Patriots only had two regular season contests before the sectional.) Allred didn’t stop with just her first career goal, but found a way to add another.

One minute after the sophomore’s first goal, another Lopez shot attempt got blocked by Gulley. Allred crashed again and got a shot past Kalyssa Limle for a second score.

JCHS got two more goals in the second half, the first coming 1:35 after the intermission on a shot from London Lloyd on a DeHoff assist.

The Patriots reached their final tally with a goal from Brilyn Wilmore at 19:59.

“This game was definitely the definition of we have so many girls that can contribute to our success,” Muhlenkamp said. “We won 5-2 and that was from everyone. I can’t say that it was (because of) this person. I can’t predict who’s going to score for my games at this point. People step up at the right moments and I think that’s why we’ve become a great team.”

JCHS has had 10 different players, all but one of them has made two or more goals.

The final Blackford score came on a direct free kick by Mays. The kick came as the result of offensive pressure by Mays and Da’khia Elkins, causing JCHS goalkeeper Meleah Parsons to pick up the ball outside of the box.

Mays and Gulley were highlights for the Bruins in the match. Mays with her two goals, and Gulley, who made 17 saves.

Jay County will close out its regular season today against Muncie Central before they prepare to take on the winner of Delta and New Castle in the IHSAA Class 2A Sectional 24 semifinal hosted by Mississinewa on Oct. 10.