Patriots strike quickly

SELMA — Kendra Muhlenkamp wanted her team to be aggressive.

The Patriots took their coach’s request and got on the board within 19 seconds.

If that wasn’t assertive enough, their second goal came one second faster.

Scoring twice in the first 37 seconds and seven times in the first half, the Jay County High School girls soccer team cruised to an 8-0 victory Tuesday over the host Wapahani Raiders.

"One of the things I said to the girls was we need to show dominance as a team," said JCHS coach Kendra Muhlenkamp. "It's not in our conference, it's not in our sectional; it's a team for us to practice to get better. We wanted to show from the get-go that we are the better team. Scored two goals in the first 40 seconds. That was great to see them connect."

Off the opening kickoff, Charlee Peters got control of the ball and sent a drop to Aixa Lopez. The senior midfielder worked down the center of the field before sending a through ball back to Peters, who easily beat Wapahani goalie Zoey Koger.

Lopez took care of the second tally, taking a pass from London Lloyd and going right up the middle for a 2-0 lead with the clock showing 39:23. It was the first of her three goals on the evening as she recorded her second hat trick of the season.

While JCHS added five more goals before halftime, the scoring pace slowed down significantly as Wapahani coach Tanner Elrod made a defensive adjustment to shift Addison Denney to sweeper with a four-player defensive line in front of her.

“I come in with a game plan, willing to adjust it as needed,” said first-year WHS coach Tanner Elrod. “I try to have two or three things in my back pocket. I just saw they were quick, they had good touches on the ball. Once they got that second one and it was directly just through (the middle), I just knew I had to at least change up the defense ..."

Maria Laux had the breakout day of her young career, getting her first goal in the first half and then notching the only score for the Patriots in the second.

Three minutes after Lopez put JCHS up 3-0, Peters took a corner kick from the right side and put the ball in front of the net. A cluster of Raiders and Patriots scrambled to try to get control of the ball. Laux won that battle and finished past Koger to put her first tally in the scorebook.

“Maria … yesterday in practice, she scored one of her first goals in practice,” said Muhlenkamp. “And it was off of a corner, she crashed. Maria’s got a good instinct on finding the ball.”

Photo Gallery

JCHS girls soccer at Wapahani (09/09/2025)

At halftime, Muhlenkamp asked her players to work on some different aspects of their game, knowing they are in for a challenge Thursday when they host undefeated Oak Hill (7-0-1). She wanted them to shoot from distance or work the ball to the corners for crosses.

Laux delivered on one such opportunity.

Corralling the ball in some open space in Raider territory, she eschewed the option of trying to dribble closer. Instead, she launched an arcing, left-footed shot that floated over Koger and under the crossbar into the back of the net.

“Amazing,” said Laux. “I'm just a freshman, so I never scored until this game. So that was my second career goal ever. And to see it just be that beautiful, hit the back of the net, it was so amazing.”

"I saw an opportunity,” she added. “There was an opening. And I just thought, there's no point of trying to dribble through and lose the ball or pass to a teammate if I have an opening there and I have an opportunity. I just felt like I may as well shoot it. There's no reason not to. If I miss, I miss; if I make it, then great.

On a night when the Patriots played everyone — they made multiple massive line changes, including pulling everyone except goalie Maleah Parsons with 9:40 left — Ayla Jackson and Lloyd also added goals. Elly Byrum and Lopez each had an assist.

Parsons was credited with two saves as the Raiders never really mounted a scoring threat.