SANDUSKY, Ohio – For the second consecutive year, Bay shut out Lexington in the postseason.
The speedy Rockets blasted off 11 shots, topping the Minutemen 3-0 in Division II regional semifinal play Wednesday night at Sandusky Perkins’ Firelands Regional Medical Center Stadium.
Following a similar theme to last year’s game, it was Bay’s speed that was tough for Lex to match.
“The speed of play is just unbelievable,” Minutemen coach Peter Them said. “That’s something you don’t teach, and it’s hard to prepare for that if you don’t see it all season.”
Rockets coach Bobby Daugherty didn’t disagree, singling out his bench players as faster than his starters.
“Everyone coming in is faster than the ones going out,” said Dougherty, adding that the second group is much worse for opposing teams to deal with.
Bay (14-3-3) knocked in its first goal at 28:07 in the first half when Cade Gergye booted one into the right corner of the goal. He was assisted on the play by Jaccob Sooy.
A late-half header from Mitch Matakovich and a goal from Logan Schmit, who rebounded his own penalty kick in the second half, rounded out the Rockets’ scoring attack.
“The options they create off the ball are phenomenal. When they’re attacking, there’s always two or three guys that are ready for a ball, and they know where they want to go and where they want to be and the runs they want to make,” Them said.
Despite the loss, the Lex coach said his team closed the gap from last year’s 5-0 shutout.
“Last year, I don’t think we even got past the 50 (yard line) very often at all,” he said. “This year, we had some momentum, and this year we had some balls and were moving it around a little and had some possessions here and there.”
In Check: Defensively, the Rockets were able to keep Minutemen forward Connor Baughman at bay, limiting his touches most of the game.
Dougherty said he previously went to watch Baughman play and called him “all that and a bag of chips.”
“He is nasty,” Dougherty said.
Strong Season: Lex finished its season with a 15-5-1 mark, and Them said he is proud of the effort his team gave.
“A 15-win season is the benchmark now and where we want to be,” he said. “A district title is the benchmark, and we want to compete for a conference title every year.
“We want to be back here – this is where we need to be every year for our program to keep going where it needs to go. And as long as everybody keeps buying into it, I think we’ll be all right.”
