John Bruce, Staff Writer
Southern Ohio Sports Authority is presented by OhioHealth.
WAVERLY — In the biggest win in North Adams’ soccer history, a freshman made all the difference.
CREDIT: Derrick Webb/SOSA
Emmy Holt, who came into Thursday’s Division III district final with four goals on the season, logged two first half scores to lift her program to its first-ever district championship — a 2-0 win over Wheelersburg.
“This is phenomenal. We’ve never been here before,” North Adams coach Morgan Hendrickson said. “Right now, we’ve got 15 girls that have come a long way. We had 28 four years ago. We’ve been looking forward to this matchup since last year when they knocked us out in the [district] semifinals. We play them during the regular season but it seems like when we get to the tournament, it’s the same old story. But our defense held it down tonight.”
At the 35:03 mark of the first half, Holt came streaking down the left side of the box to finish a nice low cross from the foot of Hunter Grooms. That’s all the Devils (18-1) needed, but she later added insurance for good measure.
“We knew we needed to work the ball down the sideline so I was trying to use my speed to get the ball to the inside,” Grooms said. “Emmy was there on two of those [types of plays] to give us the win.”
After the Green Devils took the early lead, junior Harlee Brand put on a goalkeeping clinic while piecing together her 12th shutout of the season. With around nine minutes left in the opening half, Brand deflected a Pirate shot before parrying away another on the follow-up. Brand finished her night with five saves.
“She’s amazing. Even in junior high, I knew she was going to be good,” Hendrickson said. “She’s just a gift. You don’t get many players that can play four years as a keeper. And she’s a natural-born keeper. She works hard at it. She plays club with a lot of the girls from Wheelersburg, so it was a great shutout for her.”
While the Pirates’ offensive attack of Jocelyn Tilley, Annie Coriell, Bella Miller and Mia Vastine continued to apply pressure, the Green Devils’ defense of Raylan Eldridge, Laney Ruckel, Jaida Mason and Tatum Grooms kept Wheelersburg on the outskirts of the box, lowering their true scoring chances.
After a balanced first half, Holt finished a loose ball in the box, once again on a cross from Grooms. This one, with only 52 seconds left in the half, was the dagger and dashed any hopes of a comeback attempt.
“Emmy is our former coach’s granddaughter. I can remember her as an eight-year-old coming into practice and doing drills with us,” Hendrickson said. “So it’s cool to see her here now, being a part of the most winningest team in our history. 18 wins now and that’s the most we’ve ever had.”
Throughout the second half, the Green Devils held off any push the Pirates (10-6-2) may have put forth, using outstanding midfield play from Kenlie Jones, Madi Hesler and Olivia Wright.
Behind the midfield and a valiant defensive effort, the Green Devils hoisted a district championship trophy for the first time in program history.
“This feels amazing,” Holt said. “I don’t even know what to say. I just know, running in and seeing the ball come in, I just have to hit it as hard as I can.”
Wheelersburg falls for the second straight season in a district final and will graduate eight seniors, including four starters. The Pirates’ Amber Blevins had seven saves on the night in goal.
Meanwhile, North Adams — which has now won a school record 15 straight games — will match up with a familiar foe in a Division III regional semifinal.
The Green Devils will get a second chance at conference rival Lynchburg-Clay at 6 p.m., Tuesday at Zane Trace. The Mustangs handed North Adams their lone loss of the season, a 4-1 final on Aug. 31.
Beating Lynchburg will be a tall task. But Goliath has fallen before.
“I think defense has been our strongpoint. The last time we played them, it was August,” Hendrickson said. “We’ve come a long way since then and we’ve made a lot of changes. We’ll have to play aware on defense but also not lose any offensive opportunities we may come by.”
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