Lopez leads opener

In the first half, it was a game.

It the second half, it was a show: the Aixa Lopez show, to be specific.

The senior poured in three goals in a span of less than 10 minutes to spur the Jay County High School girls soccer team past the Richmond Red Devils in a 4-0 season-opening home victory on Monday.

“I would say I think I gained confidence throughout me and my teammates,” Lopez said. “It really helped build momentum so we could score and keep scoring as a team.”

Lopez’s hat trick further solidified her as the Patriots’ most lethal scoring option, with her speed, dribbling ability and scorching long-range shot making her well suited to build on her 13-goal campaign a season ago. All that bodes well for the Patriots, who will seek to repeat as Allen County Athletic Conference champions.

The Patriots got it together after the halftime break, with coach Kendra Muhlenkamp simplifying her formation and putting three forwards up top to pester the Red Devil defense.

The adjustment paid immediate dividends, with the Patriots dominating possession throughout the half before Lopez finally broke through with just under 25 minutes left in the game, sending a screamer from 25 yards out into the right side of the goal to give Jay County the lead.

Just over a minute later, Lopez produced a near-carbon-copy of her first goal to double the advantage, knifing through traffic and ripping another long-range shot into the top right portion of the cage.

The Patriots remained relentless as the game opened up fully, with London Lloyd springing Hummer open on the left side just a few minutes later. Hummer calmly beat her defender to the ball and slotted it into the vacated net as the keeper left her crease.

“She could have got a goal in the first half, she got really upset about it,” Muhlenkamp said. “And I told her the reason why she missed that one is because she’s going to get one in the second half.”

With the victory secured, Lopez put the finishing touch on her stellar day, showcasing her unique combination of speed and control as she sliced her way to the goalmouth on the right side before careening into a pile of three Richmond defenders and shuffling the ball home to complete a hat trick.

The four goals in less than 10 minutes proved decisive, and Jay County goalkeeper Maleah Parsons kept a clean sheet with a pair of full-extension diving saves in the game’s waning moments.

Before the Patriots rollicked through the second half, the Red Devils gave them plenty of resistance early on. Both teams generated their share of chances in a wide-open first half filled with through balls and coast-to-coast action.

Richmond’s best opportunity came with just under 15 minutes remaining in the half, but was denied when captain Emma Hatzell put her body on the line to stifle a point-blank opportunity.

The play — and the rest of Hatzell’s day anchoring the Jay County defense alongside Ariel Beiswanger, Raylah Newton and Tessa Frazee — was the culmination of a year of hard work and adversity, as Monday marked Hatzell’s first game back from a torn ACL that cost her almost all of last season.

“It was really tough, watching all the girls,” Hatzell said. “But they did amazing, and that’s what kept me going, just being able to be there for them. But therapy was very mentally straining, and when I finally got released, it was just like a weight lifted off my shoulders. When I was finally able to be back out there, it’s like I’m brand new.”

With the back line secured by Hatzell and company, the Patriots pressed for chances at the end of the first half. They nearly seized the lead seconds before the halftime horn, as Raylin Hummer pounced on a ball on the threshold of the Richmond goal but couldn’t make clean contact.

“At first, we were a little edgy,” said Parsons. “We didn’t know how to come together and talk, but towards the end, we got it together.”

All told, it was a successful day for the defending ACAC champs, and one that further solidified Lopez’s presence.

“She had 13 goals last season, and I told her her goal should be to triple that goal count,” Muhlenkamp said. “She’s got the capability to do it. After every game clicks away, she’s going to have that confidence to take whatever shot she wants, and that’s what I want for her.”

With three goals already in the bank, Lopez is well on her way to that lofty milestone. After sharing the spotlight with last year’s leading scorer Morgan DeHoff, the senior midfielder is gearing up for a prolific season for herself and the squad.

“I think really just trying to prepare myself mentally first and then physically, so I can pass it on to my teammates and then give them the confidence to do what I can do, so we can build as a team together,” Lopez said.