Elyria Catholic advances to a regional final

The Panthers, led by Ryan Kunkle’s hat trick, destroy New Middleton Springfield, 6-0, and will face Kirtland in a D-III Region 9 final on Nov. 4.

UNIONTOWN» The Elyria Catholic Panthers have been a dominant team offensively all season.

That high-octane offense, despite frigid conditions, continued on Oct. 31 in a 6-0 Division III, Region 9 semifinals win over New Middletown Springfield at Green Memorial Stadium.

Senior forward/midfielder Ryan Kunkle scored a hat trick, and teammate Makenna Hodges added a goal and two assists.

The Panthers (15-5-0) advance to face Kirtland in a regional final on Nov. 4 at a site to be determined.

“I was just trying to do what’s best for my team and they set me up and it was really all of them,” Kunkle said about her night. “I just trying to do my job and put it away.

“I’m just so proud of this team and they have come so far. We practice so hard

no matter what the weather is. We start early summer when it’s 90 degrees and then we practice yesterday when it’s freezing cold and rain. Our team has so much passion and motivation, and we know all of this is going to pay off if we keep working hard and play our game. things will go our way.”

The Panthers outshot Springfield, 18-5, and goalkeeper Megan Schiebelhut recorded the clean sheet. Panthers coach Ryan Manner knows too well what type of team he has at his disposal.

“This is something they’ve talked about for a while,” Manner said. “We have four girls that made it to the regional final (and state semis) as freshmen, and a lot of them didn’t play. I think Ryan was the only one that had a lot of playing time. So they were there and they know what it takes. They were observers, but they weren’t really on the field, so this is really, really special to them to be here and make it this far.”

It took Kunkle only eight minutes into the game to strike from 15 yards out in the center of the field for a 1-0 lead. Springfield had a chance to even things in the 20th minute with a wide open shot, but missed wide right. That could have potentially changed the complexion of the game, but the Panthers made sure they didn’t miss on their opportunities.

In the 32nd minute after a foul on Springfield — Hodges blasted her penalty kick goal for a 2-0 lead. One minute later, freshman Delaney Stringer gathered a missed shot rebound off Springfield goalkeeper Lex Slike and put one through to enter halftime up, 3-0.

Kunkle scored twice in the second half — including a powerful strike from 15 yards on the right side of the field, and freshman Emilie Uhnak tacked on the final goal in the 64th minute.

The Panthers showed off a crisp 1-2 touch in their attacking third, and never eased up. It’s the 10th time this year they have scored at least five goals, with Kunkle leading the way with 40 on the season.

They also shut down Springfield’s Kylee Kosek, who entered with 42 goals, and Cierra Latronica with 38 goals.

“It’s constant, constant pressure,” Manner added about the offense. “We never want to let up. A couple of girls came to the sideline and asked if they can move back on defense. And the answer is definitely not.

“We’re going to play our game going forward and keep attacking. Our defense is also fantastic. They don’t always get a lot of credit. It’s always Ryan and Makenna. But Abby (Birsic) and Riley (Doll) in the middle are very, very tough. They have some scorers on that team and you didn’t see it today because those two shut them down.”