Clear Fork won the battle on the pitch against Ontario in a match between two of the top girls soccer programs in Ohio.
But the Lady Colts may have suffered the kind of casualty in a physical confrontation on Saturday afternoon that could cost them an upcoming tournament war.
Clear Fork scored the only goal of the match on a penalty kick by senior Taylor Hetsler with 13:18 remaining in the first half after a disputed foul inside the box. Hetsler slammed the PK into the upper right hand side of the net, almost an impossible save for Ontario goalkeeper Katherine Beech.
The win improved the Lady Colts record to 11-4, a bright spot in a week that saw Clear Fork fall in an upset loss to Lexington in the semifinals of the Ohio Cardinal Conference tournament. Ontario fell to 12-2-2.
Both teams ended their regular seasons and now look forward to the post-season tournaments – an event where both programs have experienced tremendous success. The Colts advanced to the Division II regional finals last year. Ontario played in the Division III state finals a year ago, but now compete in the same bigger school division as Clear Fork.
In fact, Saturday’s game on Ontario’s pitch could have well been a preview of the Division II district title game in about two weeks in Ashland.
If so, the Lady Colts may be without the services of super sophomore forward Jordyne Helinski. She suffered a shoulder injury with about 15 minutes left in the first half and did not return. That meant the Colts went toe-to-toe against the Warriors for 55 minutes and held their own.
“We played all right,” Lady Colts Brittany Bechtel said afterward. “We had to refocus ourselves when (Helinski) went out for the rest of the game. We had some JV players step up and fill in. We had some misfires, but the defense held up and we won a lot of the 50-50 balls in the middle of the field.”
Bechtel said she was worried about the prognosis for Helinski. “She is tough. For her to come out of a game …. After the game I touched her shoulder just to say good game and I could tell she was in a lot of pain. I am not counting her out though.
“She is a very talented striker with almost 30 goals. But if she can’t go, we need to find a counterpart to work with (junior All-Ohio forward) Deijah Swihart. We have the depth to do that if have to,” Bechtel said.
Swihart admitted it was not as easy without Helinski on the pitch. “It was definitely tough. I have played with Jordyne forever. I had to become the main striker. My teammates looked up to me to find the back of the net.
“I was very happy with how the younger girls stepped up today and did the job. They worked hard and were not scared to step up to the next level,” Swihart said.
Swihart said the penalty kick OCC tournament loss to Lexington motivated her. “I got over that loss in a couple of days. I want to use that loss to fuel my fire.”
The game was played evenly throughout with both teams building momentum and then narrowly missing to cash in with a score. Both teams had 14 shots on goal. Ontario had five corner kicks, one more than Clear Fork. Morgan Bailey had 11 saves in the goal for Clear Fork while Beech had 10 for Ontario.
Ontario coach Larry Atkinson said his team learned a valuable lesson heading into a Division II sectional next Saturday against Lexington, a team the Warriors defeated 2-1 earlier this season.
“We found out (today) we could play with them and battle to the end. It was an exciting, physical soccer game, exactly the kind of game you need to get yourself ready for the tournaments,” Atkinson said.
“It’s too bad the outcome of the game was decided on a judgment call by an official. We would have liked to have decided it on the field,” he said.
“I thought we came out the last couple of games and didn’t play with the same kind of intensity we needed. But we played hard. We had some opportunities. I am proud of the way our girls played today,” Atkinson said.
Clear Fork opens its sectional tournament on Wednesday at 6 p.m. at Lexington against Mansfield Senior.
