Southern Ohio Sports Authority is presented by OhioHealth.
KINNIKINNICK — After 110 minutes of a stalemate, it took a penalty shootout to decide Saturday’s winner between Minford and North Adams.
In that shootout, Minford’s Kade Glockner made two outstanding saves to help elevate his team to next week’s regional semifinals.
Even with Glockner’s heroics, the Falcons needed to make their shots, something that Ethan Cordle, and Alex and Ashton Reeder all did, pushing the Falcons to a 3-1 win in the shootout and a Division V district championship.
Playing in front of a massive crowd, two proud programs put on a show for their supporters on a chilly night in Kinnikinnick.
CREDIT: Erica Fike/SOSA
Following a tightly played first 25 minutes of action, Minford was able to take an early lead on a blistering, bending shot from outside the 18 via Myles Montgomery with 14:23 to play in the first half.
“We thought that Myles could put a lot of pressure on their defense.They like to fall back,” Minford coach Jacob Hackworth said. “So we told him to just fall back and sit in the dead zone between the sweeper. We wanted him to go at them and take shots when he had open looks. He did that. He got a goal there for us and I really thought it would jumpstart us. But credit to [North Adams] and their athleticism. We just couldn’t get anything going.”
The lead would hold heading into the halftime break, but the Green Devils were able to draw even on a connection from Collin Tolle to Tristan Young with 33:55 to play in regulation.
Tolle sent a cross into the box, which Young was able to get a touch on to beat Glockner and draw the match even.
With the score at 1-1, Minford’s attack started to pick up, led by Cordle and Montgomery, but was unable to break the impenetrable wall that would be Jayce Rothwell.
Rothwell, a senior goalkeeper, was absolutely spectacular for the Green Devils, collecting 18 saves, with many of them being at close range.
“They’ve only given up 10 goals before tonight and [Rothwell] had 114 saves,” Hackworth said. “That’s their M.O. Play defense. They got the goal they needed and forced us to play a ton of minutes.”
On the other side of the pitch, the Falcons’ defense more than held its own in the contest as well. The unit, led by Max Lauder, Aidan Slusher, Tate Johnson and Owen Meadows, along with a returning Ty Borland, helped protect Glockner throughout much of the contest.
“On paper, you look at Kade and you may not think he’s that good because he doesn’t have the statistics,” Hackworth said. “But that’s credit to our defense. And I think, defensively, the best is yet to come. We haven’t had Ty that long and he’s not even in game shape. But they’re phenomenal back there. They all did great tonight.”
Minford’s late push from the midfield, with Gavin Downey, Mark Napier, Peyton Caudill and the Reeder’s kept the Green Devils on their heels. However, thanks to Rothwell and a solid defensive effort from Daulton Pence, Alan Wilson and Caleb Eldridge, along with help from Tyler Richendollar, Cameron McCann and Tolle, NA was able to hold off the Falcons and force overtime.
In overtime, things got much more difficult for the Green Devils as they had a starter sent off for their second yellow card caution of the game, forcing the Green Devils to play 10-on-11 for the remainder of the contest — nearly 20 minutes worth.
Minford kept pushing forward, but was unable to add on the game-winner, forcing the penalty shootout, which would be competed in a best-of-five format.
Stepping up first for the Falcons would be Cordle, their penalty-taking ace. The senior captain slotted his shot into the right side of the net, giving the Falcons a 1-0 lead.
After scoring in regulation, Colin Tolle was the first to kick for North Adams, where he calmly placed his shot into the left side of the net to draw even. On the following kick, Rothwell would guess correctly, making a stop on a shot slightly to his right.
With the pressure now on Glockner to make a stop of his own, the senior keeper did just that, laying out to his left to make a diving save on the next attempt. Alex Reeder stepped forward for the Falcons, crushing his shot just under the crossbar to give the Falcons a 2-1 lead.
Glockner got his next chance to be the hero on a shot that went high and to his right, where he would dive and successfully parry the shot away to open up a chance for the Falcons to earn the win in the next round.
Ashton Reeder cooly stepped up to the penalty spot and followed Cordle’s lead by hammering his shot into the right corner of the net, giving a 3-1 lead to the Falcons.
“I’m a huge soccer fan and I’ve been a fan my whole life,” Hackworth said. “The best coaches in the world say to put your best guy first. [Cordle] has taken PKs first all year. He’s our number one. You go get the lead. So we started top-heavy. The keeper made a good save on Myles but the Reeder brothers did what they do best and got the ball in the net.”
With a must-make for North Adams coming, Glocker would once again guess correctly, but the shot would go sailing high, setting off a Minford celebration.
“In training, Kade is so good at PKs. Like frustratingly good,” Hackworth said. “We knew as a coaching staff that we’d have a good chance because of him. Before we broke the huddle, he said, ‘Boys, we’re winning this shootout and we’re going to go in that corner, where their fans are, and we’re going to celebrate.’ That’s what happened. He’s a good kid. He’s worked hard and I couldn’t be happier for him.”
While North Adams’ season comes to a close, Minford advances to play in a Division V regional semifinal on Wednesday at Jackson’s Alumni Stadium. There, the Falcons will take on a familiar foe in Southern Ohio Conference foe South Webster for a third time this season.
First touch is scheduled for 7 p.m.
“The division expansions, I thought, would water down some of the play,” Hackworth said. “But these district games here are both top class, good soccer games. You’ve got good coaching and good players. It’s pretty fun for Southern Ohio.”
Scoring Summary
1st Half: 14:23 (Minford) Myles Montgomery
2nd Half: 33:55 (North Adams) Tristan Young (Collin Tolle)
Stat book
Shots: Minford 28, North Adams 9
Saves: Glockner (Minford) 5, Rothwell (North Adams) 18
Fouls: Minford 13, North Adams 15
Corners Won: Minford 10, North Adams 4
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