Rockets soar into regional final

Looking to get back to the regional finals, it didn’t take Bay long to ensure they were making the trip.

The 10th-ranked Rockets scored their first of five first-half goals less than six minutes into the game. Autumn Meisenburg recorded a hat trick as the Rockets rolled into the regional final with an 8-1 Division II Region 6 semifinal win over Toledo Central Catholic Oct. 31 at Perkins High School. The Rockets will play Mansfield Madison on Nov. 4.

“We came out, possessed the ball and attacked the goal,” Bay coach Jack Griffiths said. “The girls played well.

“We put a game plan together. We practiced on Sunday and some of the stuff we put in … we got two goals. The girls put in extra time to learn.”

The Rockets (15-2-3) went on the offensive early, having two very good shots on goal in the first three minutes into the first half. Kelly Lenarth got the Rockets on the board as she lofted a shot from the left-hand side over Irish goalie Maddie Beyer’s

outstretched hands into the upper right-hand corner for the goal.

“Once we saw they were playing deep, we said let’s get into the offensive third and attack the goal.” Griffiths said.

After Lenarth’s goal, the proverbial flood gates opened.

Meisenburg scored the next two goals, while Maddie Ault made a spectacular move to beat an Irish defender and put the ball into the back of the net to make it 4-0 with 16 minutes left in the first half.

The onslaught ended when Kolby Johnston scored to give Bay a 5-0 lead at the half.

“It was just great,” Meisenburg said. “We all worked really hard. Usually teams who play against us hold a high line.

“But they (Central Catholic) stayed back and didn’t charge us. So, we had time to control the ball and take shots. That is why we scored a few goals out wide. It feels great and will give us confidence heading into the next game.”

Toledo Central Catholic continued to fight gamely as Alexa Denko scored to make it 5-1. However, the Rockets’ explosive offense responded with Meisenburg scoring her third goal of the game. Grace Frey capped off the scoring with 17:10 left in the second half and a 7-1 lead. Tenley Allerding scored the final goal for Bay.

Besides the offense scoring goal after goal in the first half, Bay’s defense can’t be overlooked as they held Toledo Central Catholic to only a pair of shots on goal in the first half. Controlling the ball in the midfield also stymied the Irish’s offense, who were making their first regional appearance in school history.

Though Bay had a pair of losses in the regular season, Griffiths knows the tough competition they faced helped them prepare for this game.

“I’ve always been a believer (that) wins are great, but I really don’t care about the record,” he said. “I want to play Mags (Magnificat). I want to play Avon. I want to play those big D-I schools and be competitive with them.

“When we get into games like this; it just slows it down a little bit. The girls can see the field and when we’re telling them to spread it out and use their foot skills, it’s a lot quicker for us to do.”