Red Devils Battles Through Beavers, Delays To Girls Soccer District Title
Kim North Trending
STEUBENVILLE - It's hard to beat a team three times in the same season. St. Clairsville found a way though.
Trailing Beaver Local 1-0 on an own-goal early in the second half, the top-seeded Red Devils (13-6-1) withstood a very good Beavers team and a nearly 1-hour weather delay before rallying to draw even in the 73rd minute on a goal by freshman Elizabeth Morgan. Neither team scored in the final seven minutes, forcing the Ohio Division IV Eastern District championship game into a sudden-death overtime period.
Just prior to the halfway point of the 15-minute extra session, Morgan was back at it. Her goal in the 87th minute lifted St. Clairsville to a thrill-packed, 2-1, triumph over the fourth-seeded Beavers (12-7-1) on Reno Saccoccia Field inside Harding Stadium.
With the cherished victory, the youthful Red Devils advanced to their second regional semifinal in program history, the other coming four years ago. They will meet No. 8 West Muskingum, a 1-0 victor over No. 6 West Holmes last night in Coshocton at McFarland Stadium in Cambridge on Tuesday at 7 p.m.
St. Clairsville defeated Beaver Local 2-0 and 4-2 earlier in the second, the second win coming in the OVAC Class 4A semifinals.
"These girls gave everything they had tonight. I am so proud of them," St. Clairsville head coach Wes Stoner said. "This was an amazing win."
"I am very proud of these girls. We went into overtime with River View two nights ago. I feel we had some tired legs in the second half and the overtime that played into the outcome after the weather delay," Beaver Local head coach Liz Connor said. "The girls gave it all and left everything on the field."
Neither team could dent their side of the scoreboard in the first 40 minutes as St. Clairsville's Kiya Kyer and Beaver Local's Tori Druschel stood tall between the posts. Kyer stopped all five shots she faced, while Druschel was perfect on four tries. Kyer did record some leaping saves.
The Beavers had a golden scoring opportunity in the first minute of the second half, but Riley Springer couldn't control the ball as Kyer made a sprawling save.
Two minutes later, Springer sent a driver from low on the left wing that caromed off a St. Clairsville defender and into the net. Springer was credited with the goal as Beaver Local led 1-0.
"That was just an unfortunate bounce, but, like I told them, that's soccer," Stoner said.
With 15:27 showing on the second-half clock, the match was stopped for nearly an hour by lightning. After it restarted, Kyer came up huge twice in a row off consecutive corner kicks by the Beavers in the 66th minute.
"Kiya was the player of the game in my mind," Stoner said of his goalkeeper who set the program record in Monday's semi final with her 10th shutout of the season. "She made so many saves on corner kicks. She was unbelievable."
Morgan found herself with the ball 25 yards from the net. She spun around and let loose a shot that slid along the artificial pitch and past Druschel in the 73rd minute. The assist went to Olivia McKeever.
"I told the girls during the weather break that we had to be confident," Stoner recalled. "They were down 1-0 and acted as if the game was over. I told them they were the better team and to start playing like the 12-win team that they are."
Kyer came up big twice early in overtime, making leaping saves on consecutive corner kicks from Peyton Dunn.
Shortly after the second, Morgan sent the Red Devils faithful home happy as she tickled the twine from 20 yards on the right wing. The game-winner was assisted on by Bella Cunningham.
"Morgan has ice in her veins. For only being a freshman, she doesn't let anything affect her," Stoner noted. "She's only going to get better."
Morgan explained that she did just what Coach Stoner told them during the weather delay.
"He told us to start shooting the ball," she said. "He told us that everyone was passing the ball, but no one was putting it on net. That's all I tried to do, put the ball on net."
Druschel finished with nine saves while Kyer registered a dozen.