Orme, DC elimintate Trojans 1-0
BELLEFONTAINE — No. 6-seeded Dayton Christian sat back and played defense for
much of the night while frustrating No. 4-seeded Botkins during a 1-0 win for the Warriors in an OHSAA Division III Southwest District Tournament
semifinal Tuesday night.
Each team finished with six shots on-goal.
The only shot that got crossed the goal line came off the foot
of Dayton Christian’s Ethan Orme in the 57th minute on an assist from Seth Thompson. Trojans goalkeeper Carson Motter moved forward from the goalie box to defend Orme 1-on-1, but the Warriors’ forward
kicked the ball into the left corner of the net.
“Dayton Christian was able to stay organized and we couldn’t
string passes together in our offensive attack. We struggled e we advanced the ball into
the final third (of the field),” Botkins coach Kevin Lynch said. “They have three really good forwards, but I thought their defense
is their weak part. They forced us to make mistakes up top
so that they could counter against us (with their forwards).
“We needed to get the ball wide and use
our width and get cross passes inside, and we did that a couple times. We didn’t have good service inside the blocks.”
Lynch said Orme used his speed to slip past the Trojans’ defense and score the only goal of the match.
“Unfortunately, it only takes one play to
end your season,” Lynch said.
The Warriors (12-6-1 overall) led 3-2 in shots on-goal during a
scoreless tie through 40 minutes. Thompson kicked a pair of laser
beams at Motter from the far sideline that
came from about 30 yards out, while Luke Reid added another
shot. John Smock and Rylan Paul were credited with shots on-goal for the Trojans against
Dayton Christian goalkeeper Nate Petroni.
Botkins (14-3-2 overall) had more scoring chances in the second
half, when it claimed a 4-3 edge in shots ongoal. Smock, Reis Aselage, Devon Manger and Xavior Monnin
had shots that did not get past Petroni.
In the 75th minute, Monnin cut through the Dayton Christian
defense to face Petroni 1-on-1, but the shot
from the Trojans’ forward clanked off the
upper right corner of the goal.
Botkins attackers found traffic in front
of the net as the Warriors placed eight players inside the penalty box, making passing difficult throughout the match.
Motter finished with six saves, while Petroni came away with three stops.
Dayton Christian advanced to play either No. 1-seeded Medina or No. 4-seeded Cincinnati Christian
in a Southwest District Tournament championship match at 7 p.m.
Saturday. The result of the Medina-cincinnati Christian match was
not available before press time.