Sensational Clear Fork sophomore Jordyne Helinski had her arm in a sling Wednesday night, forced to watch and cheer for her teammates in a Division II girls soccer sectional title game against Mansfield Senior.
Those teammates made sure it won’t be the last game Helinski gets to enjoy this season – though she will likely spend the remainder of the post-season tournament on the bench.
Rated the ninth best Division II team in the state, Clear Fork (12-4) simply overwhelmed the Tygers, 9-0, on the Lexington High School pitch in a contest between Ohio Cardinal Conference opponents.
Afterward, Clear Fork coach Brittany Bechtel, who has guided two teams to the regional finals in the last three years, said Helinski’s return this season is in doubt. The high-scoring forward suffered a shoulder injury Saturday in a 1-0 win at Ontario.
“Jordyne has a 3rd-degree shoulder separation,” Bechtel said. “She may have to undergo surgery. Right now we are into healing and prayer. The doctor said she probably will not be able to play again this season.
“We are going to get a second opinion. Jordyne says she will be back,” Bechtel said. “But her return is doubtful.”
Seven different Clear Fork players scored, including two goals from freshman Hannah Homerick and two from All-Ohioan Deijah Swihart. It was the second time Clear Fork blanked Mansfield Senior this season, handing the Tygers an 11-0 defeat on Sept. 5.
What did Clear Fork gain Wednesday that will help the Colts in the district tournament next week at Ashland against the victor of tonight’s Clyde versus Milan Edison. That game will be Oct. 22 at 7 p.m.
“I was able to play 21 people tonight and that will only enhance our depth and help our young people. We need to find out what players can step in (with the loss of Helinski) and fill the roles we need. I do have some different options and each of them brings something different.”
Another freshman, Erin McKinley, had a goal for Clear Fork, which built a 6-0 halftime edge against Mansfield Senior (1-13-1). Others scoring were senior Vanessa Skoog, senior Caroline Parnisari, sophomore Taylor Cook and senior Aubrey Pipes.
The Colts fired 30 shots on goal, compared to just five for the Tygers. Mansfield senior goalkeeper Jillian Nehrkom recorded 21 saves.
“Jillian was second-team All-Ohio last year and when she is focused, I don’t know if there is a better keeper in the area. If she is not there, this could have been much worse,” Mansfield Senior coach Dustin Hosler said.
Six seniors played their final match for the Tygers, including Nehrkom, Mollie Wade, Cristyn Jones, Rebecca Fischer, Shayna Vance and Randy Hosler.
“We had a very good senior class,” Hosler said. “They provided unbelievable leadership. With so many young players (12 sophomore and freshmen), it put a great deal of pressure on our seniors. They worked hard and left behind a legacy of leadership for the younger players.
“We have freshmen who never played soccer before this season. We don’t have a feeder system. Clear Fork has a great development system – kids playing club soccer and indoor. Brittany does a great job with that,” Hosler said.
While the Tygers look forward to next season, Clear Fork is focused on a potential rematch in the district finals against state-ranked Ontario (12-2-2). The Warriors played in the Division III state title match last season but moved to the larger school division this season.
However, Ontario has a huge sectional title game Saturday at 1 p.m. at Lexington against a surging Lady Lex team that knocked off the Colts in the OCC semifinals last week. A suddenly healthy Lexington club (5-8-3) maintained that momentum by beating Wooster two nights later in the OCC tournament title game.
The winner of the Lexington-Ontario game will play with Sandusky Perkins or Norwalk in a district semifinal on October 22 at 5 p.m.
