It was Senior night at the Colt Corral and the Colt’s class of 2014 went out in style, issuing the visiting Ashland Arrows a shutout and tearing through OCC play with a 6-0-0 record.
Clear Fork cruised to a halftime lead of 3-0 and would hold off the Arrows for the next half to issue their second shutout of the week. The first came in a decisive 12-0 shutdown of the Madison Rams.
Clear Fork got off 16 shots on goal. Ashland kept pace with 13 shots on goal.
Ashland’s Olivia Vinsack picked up 7 saves. Colts Keeper Morgan Bailey saved 9 shots and senior Ashley Oswalt picked up another.
The Lady Colts improve to 9-2-0 and are 6-0-0 in OCC play. Ashland falls to 6-5-2, and an even 2-2-2 in league play. The Clear Fork JV squad won by an 8-1 margin.
Junior Deijah Swihart led scoring with two goals. Junior Camryn Crill and sophomore Jordyne Helinski would also find the back of the net to round out Clear Fork Scoring. Taylor Hetsler added two assists. Swihart and MacKenzie Golden both assisted scorers once.
A two-time All Ohio pick, Swihart has been no stranger to the goal box. With 18 goals scored and 8 assists, her 2013 season has been another good one. Super sophomore Jordyne Helinski has also been lethal for the Lady Colts, adding 26 goals and 5 assists on the season. The team scoring total stands 64.
But don’t let duo’s class rank fool you. Coach Brittany Bechtel said of her scorers, “They might be young on paper, but they have a lot of soccer experience.”She credited long hours of hard work and offseason dedication to the rise of her young players.
In goal, Bailey has been another standout for Clear Fork, denying opponents with 71 saves on the season. “She makes things look effortless,” said Bechtel said of her keeper. The coach added, “You feel good having her back there.”
Defense was especially a point of uncertainty for the Colts. Graduation cost the team 8 seniors in 2013, many of them defensive specialists. Bechtel credits her players for stepping up their play and commended Taylor Kline for leading the defensive charge at sweeper. The team has allowed a mere 9 goals in 11 games, and delivered 7 shutouts to opponents.
Looking ahead, that play could prove critical as the games ahead are big ones.
Clear Fork’s next game will be against Division II top ranked Granville.
