GEORGETOWN — Ripley’s soccer teams made the trip to Georgetown for a rivalry soccer match under the lights last Saturday night but the Blue Jays may have left their offense in Ripley.
The boys’ teams got things started and neither team could tally a goal in the first half. Ripley had a chance at a goal but the ball sailed wide early in the half while Georgetown’s squad had trouble getting the ball in on goal, as the team’s shots were consistently blocked.
Finally, Tanner Householder made a run up the left side for Georgetown and flicked a shot over a leaping Michael Oberschlake in goal to break the scoring seal. That would be the only goal of the game as the G-Men knocked off the Blue Jays, 1-0.
Ripley head coach Amber Dudley said her team was unable to adjust in time to prevent the goal.
“We had help but both of them got beat and neither of the defenders adjusted and got back,” Dudley said. “The guy was left wide-open with the shot. I don’t care if they get shots, just not wide-open shots. It’s frustrating but we’ll learn from it.”
Georgetown head coach Cory Cahall said his team was able to lock down the victory because of their ability to play with a lead.
“Our team plays best when we have a lead,” Cahall said. “We get the mentality of not giving anything up to the opposing team and we do everything in our power to protect our goal. It’s a mindset in these guys of believing in themselves and knowing that they are good enough to close out close games.”
Georgetown’s starting goaltender is normally Noah Pack, but Pack played the field Saturday night. Logan Doss and Luke Gast shared time in goal for the G-Men, and Cahall said they performed well.
“We wanted to shake up the lineup a little and give our seniors a chance to play up more offensively,” They both performed well and made crucial plays in the game to help us preserve a 1-0 victory. Looking back, I would probably elect to start the game as normal and build a better lead before making any lineup changes. Ripley came in hungry for a win I think starting different gave them some momentum and confidence as they played us very tough.”
Ripley also made a lineup change. Dudley said the team went for a more defense-oriented approach against a Georgetown team they knew would be tough.
“We switched up our lines today,” Dudley said. “We went with a stopper back on defense and only went with two strikers, so that might have affected us a little bit. We practiced that last night and we thought it was a good adjustment coming in knowing Georgetown had won a lot of games. We wanted to play a little bit more defense.”
Despite the loss, Dudley said she liked how hard her team played against the G-Men.
“Everyone thought we’d get blown away today, and I’m happy with their performance and how they played, Dudley said. “They played hard.”
The girls’ match featured more offense in the first three minutes than the boys’ contest did in the entire game. Unfortunately for the Lady Jays, it was all Georgetown.
Amaya Lovell scored twice in the first four minutes and nearly had a third goal three minutes later, but it was saved by the goalkeeper. Nonetheless, Lauren Carter and Cheyenne Dunseith were able to convert, giving the Lady G-Men a 4-0 first-half lead. They would win the game by that score.
Lady Blue Jays head coach Marty Adams said his team made mistakes, something they could not afford to do against Georgetown.
“We didn’t come out ready to play and they were,” Adams said. “I thought we played really well after that but we missed some easy touches that we should have had and it led to some breakaways. We weren’t playing to the feet and they’re too good to not take adavantage of those things. They got up on us and they could kind of sit back in defensive mode.”
Adams complimented the Georgetown squad as well.
“They’ve got a lot of younger players over there and they’re really good,” Adams said. “They just out-played us and took advantage of those opportunities.”
Lady G-Men head coach Ashley Silvis-Corbin said the team worked well together.
“We passed, we worked as a team,” Sivlis-Corbin said. “We came out as a team and were ready to go. It was senior night and we had fun with it.”
Both schools now prepare for sectional play. Georgetown’s boys squad earned a home match against Finneytown, and the location is key according to Cahall.
“Anytime you can get a game on your home field in front of a home crowd it gives you an advantage,” Cahall said. “It’s important from being familiar with the surroundings, the field and the goals. Being at home tends to give the team just a little extra step in their energy level. Being a tourney game where you lose and the season is over, we welcome any advantage we can get.”
The Lady G-Men also drew Finneytown at home. Ripley’s boys squad earned a first-round bye and will play the winner of Roger Bacon and North College Hill while the Lady Jays will travel to Bethel to take on the Lady Tigers.
