BELLVILLE — Wooster goalkeeper Carla Stoll had a busy night Tuesday. Stoll was under siege much of the evening, but the junior midfielder-turned-net minder kept Clear Fork at bay in a scoreless tie at the Colt Corral.
Clear Fork (7-0-2, 3-0-1) and Wooster (4-3-2, 3-0-1) remained tied atop the Ohio Cardinal Conference standings.
“It was definitely frustrating,” Clear Fork’s Deijah Swihart said. “We had good shots on goal, but their keeper was outstanding tonight. She had an awesome game.
“We just need to finish our scoring chances.”
Most of the second-half action was spent on the Wooster side of the field as the Colts turned up the heat. Swihart and junior sensation Jordyne Helinski unloaded on Stoll, but to no avail.
“They just didn’t fall. You’ll have that in a game,” Clear Fork coach Brittany Bechtel said. “In the first half we were playing a lot of 50-50 balls. We weren’t settling it. We had a talk at halftime and I thought, in the second half, we hammered it home on possession.
“We finally started creating runs and feeding it to feet.”
The Colts made short, crisp passes and largely controlled the action in the second half. Wooster’s scoring opportunities were limited and when the Generals did get off a shot, Clear Fork keeper Morgan Bailey was up to the task.
“Sometimes getting them to understand that the pretty part of the game is not how far can you kick it but how can you meet the pass or hit the angle or set up the shot,” Bechtel said. “In the second half we re-adjusted our formation and were really able to stay on their side of the field and not play a defensive game.
“I feel like we executed in the second half. We just didn’t get the ball to fall.”
Chase for the Championship: Clear Fork and Wooster have dominated the conference standing for the past five years.
The Colts won OCC crowns in 2013, 2012 and 2010. Wooster won the championship in 2011, shared it with Lex in 2009 and was runner-up last year.
“We have developed a good rivalry with Wooster over the past few years,” Swihart said. “They have been our biggest challenge in the conference this year.”
The Colts could run into Wooster in the upcoming OCC tournament.
“We would have liked to get the win, but a tie is better than a loss,” Bechtel said. “We’re even with them right now with the tournament coming up.
“We have the crown from last year, but we’ve moved on and we’re focusing on this year.”
Debut: Meshia Curry made her first appearance for the Colts on Tuesday. The junior defender transferred from Lexington and had to sit out the first eight games of the season as per Ohio High School Athletic Association transfer rules.
“We’re trying to get everybody to mesh back there,” Bechtel said. “We’re kind of starting over in that regard.
“We’re a work in progress on defense because we’re adding another person back there.”
