Clear Fork coach Brittany Bechtel wasn’t worried about Clyde’s strategy during their girls soccer Division II district semifinal Tuesday night.
“We don’t worry so much about what the other team is doing. We tell our girls all the time that if they just play their game, we can play with any team in the state,” Bechtel said.
Proof positive was the 6-0 the Colts administered on the turf at Ashland High School’s Community Stadium. Despite the lopsided score, the game was not even that close.
The victory, in the nightcap of a double-header that saw Ontario eliminate Norwalk in the first match, sets up the district title game that’s been on everyone’s mind since the Warriors moved up to Division II from the smaller D-III ranks. The district title match will be Saturday at 1 p.m., back at Community Stadium.
“We have been ready (for the Ontario match),” Bechtel said. “We have been waiting. We will come ready to play. This will be a great match to watch. This is the kind of big tournament game you want to play in.”
Against Clyde, Clear Fork (13-4) scored three times in the game’s first nine minutes and led 5-0 at halftime. Five different players scored goals for the Colts in the first 40 minutes, who are still without super sophomore forward Jordyne Helinski.
For the game, Clear Fork outshot Clyde, 28-0. That’s not a typo. The Fliers, hemmed in their own end of the field throughout, didn’t manage one shot on goal during the entire match. The Colts had six cornerkicks compared to zero for Clyde. The only edge Clyde had statistically came in goalkeeping where Alyssa Friedberg had 13 saves, compared to zero for the Colts.
“We knew a little about Clyde,” Bechtel said. “We know who they played and that they are an up-and-coming program and improving. But we are always more concerned about what we are doing.”
Clear Fork scored early and often against the quickly shell-shocked Fliers. It began less than four minutes intio the game when senior MacKenzie Golden took a feed from freshman Hannah Homerick (filling in for Helinski) on the right side and slammed it into the left corner of the net.
Less than four minutes later, senior Taylor Hetsler struck a perfect cornerkick and junior All-Ohioan Deijah Swihart scored the first of her two goals with a wonderfully placed header.
With 31:25 left in the first half, Clear Fork made it 3-0 when Swihart nailed a cross that junior Camryn Crill sent into the net.
The Colts made it 4-0 at the 3:42 mark when sophomore Taylor Cook scored an unassisted goal and 5-0 with 1:01 left when sophomore Breezy Argenio added another unassisted goal.
The final score of the match came at the 30:47 mark in the second hal fwhen Gordon assisted on Swihart’s second goal.
Bechtel kept rotating players into and out of the game throughout.
“We don’t play on turf and we knew we had things to work on. We talked about them at halftime and tweeked the things we need to be ready for Saturday,” she said.
Swihart agreed the Colts needed the time on turf before the titanic clash with Ontario.
“The ball moves differently … much faster,” she said. “We need to learn where to put the ball where a teammate will get to it first. We figured that out tonight.”
Swihart is also becoming used to playing with different running mates on offense without Helinski, who will likely miss the remainder of the season after suffering a badly separated shoulder in a 1-0 win at Ontario in the final regular season match for both teams.
“I think (my teammates) have been exceptional,” Swihart said. “They have gotten used to playing at this level and now they are ready for Ontario. We are all getting used to each other.”
Like her coach, Swihart has also had Ontario on her mind for a long time. The Warriors advanced to the Division III state title match last season while the Colts made it to the regional finals in Division II. It’s safe to say both teams had this match circled on their calendar when the season started.
“We are ready. This game will be more competitive since it’s a tournament game. We have been practicing for this one,” she said.
