Minford scores three first half goals to beat Lynchburg-Clay, heads to Elite 8

John Bruce, Staff Writer

CHILLICOTHE — Minford’s first-ever Sweet 16 appearance didn’t exactly start as planned. 

In fact, it began with a disaster. 

But a quick, gritty response helped carry the Falcons (17-2) past Lynchburg-Clay by a 3-1 final and into their first-ever regional championship game. 

“Grit. It’s all grit. I told the girls that we’re either going to win swinging or we’re going to go down swinging, but we’re going to keep swinging. That’s what they did. They kept swinging,” Minford coach Shane Tieman said. “These girls just don’t quit. It’s just amazing.”

With 31:44 to play in the first half, the Mustangs (11-7-2) sent a low cross to the top of the box, which deflected off a defender, away from goalkeeper Addison Lemon, and into the net.

Less than 10 minutes into the most prolific game in program history, Minford was down 1-0.

The senior-heavy Falcons could have hung their heads over the bad-luck start. But instead, they quickly responded with a goal from Lexi Pendleton at the 25:59 mark. 

The senior’s 14th goal of the year was set up through the midfield, eventually finding Lexi Conkel, who turned and sent a ball forward to Pendleton.

Pendleton then raced past two defenders to get an opening, where she struck a right-footed shot into the left side of the net to tie the match only minutes after the initial own goal.

The Falcons then began to take control of the match in a variety of ways in the midfield, winning most 50-50 balls, maintaining possession and pushing forward to try and take their first lead.

It came after a series of aggressive runs from Conkel and Marley Rhodes.

Both speedsters were able to push down the right side of the field to send crosses in with varying impacts. 

Finally, a cross from Conkel connected with freshman Sadie Tieman near the top of the box, and after some contact, the ball rolled to Maggie Risner. 

Risner lined up her shot from outside the box and ripped a ball into the left side netting to put Minford ahead 2-1 with 18:02 to play in the first half. 

They never looked back.

“We’re able to adjust,” Tieman said. “When they pack the box, we can do the possession game and spread them deep and spread them wide. We’ve had goals off of 10-string passes. That’s one way to play. But when it’s run and gun, we’re able to run with them. You just have to adjust to the play and this team has done it better than any other.”

“We try to just keep it simple. We tell them to always make the highest percentage decision. The decision-making of this team is incredible,” Tieman added. “They’re just playing the game the way it’s supposed to be played.”

Lynchburg-Clay began to find its footing and started to make an impact in the midfield. 

Aubrey Slack, Caraline West and Reese Ruble were able to gain possession and work the ball forward for the Mustangs, eventually getting a push towards the Falcons’ box. Lemon corralled the first attempt from the Mustangs, but the second shot completely turned the tide of the game. 

Late in the half, the Mustangs sent a corner kick towards the goal, which was cleared by the Falcons and eventually led to the dagger from Conkel with 3:55 to play in the first half. 

As the ball was cleared forward, it headed towards the Falcons’ sideline, where Conkel hustled to save with a header before going out of bounds. Two passes later, Risner sent the ball to an open space, where Conkel outran the defense to, taking two dribbles forward and crushing a shot into the top of the net for a 3-1 lead. 

And that was, as they say, all she wrote.

“Before every game, I always stress to our team that no game is guaranteed,” Conkel said. “We have to leave everything on the field with no regrets. So I just wanted to leave it all out there. I hustled my butt off to keep the ball in bounds and just kept running. Maggie played me a perfect ball. I saw the keeper and knew I could rip that shot. I ripped it and, thankfully, it went right over her head and in.”

The Mustangs tried to force the issue offensively in the second half, but the Falcons’ defensive unit — led by Ella Estep, Claire Clevinger, Marlee Pendleton and Allie Sanders — cut off any quality looks. The Mustangs did send in a couple of shots from distance, but nothing pressured Lemon in goal for the majority of the game.

“It’s amazing. We’ve joked all year about our defense not being that fast. But we’ve got 11 shutouts,” Tieman said. “To hold a team like Lynchburg-Clay to one goal is amazing. I was getting a little worried at the end because they were coming with everything they had. We got turned around a little bit, but we managed to get a boot on the ball at the right time. Just a great job.”

Minford continued to look to add on, with pressures from Conkel and Ava Cronin, but they were unable to beat senior keeper Allie Waits for the Mustangs. The Mustangs also were aided with outstanding defense from Addie Downing and Olivia Van Fleet to keep their team in the game. 

Lynchburg finally got their best look on goal from distance late in the game, but Lemon calmly handled the chance as she had done all evening. She finished with only two saves, but was aggressive in the box to eliminate any chances that may have accumulated if she stayed on her line. 

“It takes all 11 players on the field to have a great team,” Risner said. “Addi puts in just as much work as everyone else at practice, constantly getting reps. Every drill we do, she’s in the goal. So she leaves it all out there. She takes everything to heart. I have so much faith in her back there.”

Lynchburg-Clay finishes their season with their sixth straight district championship and bids adieu to a senior class that won 56 games in their four years.

Meanwhile, Minford advances to a Division V regional championship game at noon on Saturday at Logan High School. The Falcons will meet with Grandview Heights, who beat Bishop Rosecrans by a 3-1 final to advance.

The Bobcats will come into the match at 14-3-3 overall with quality losses to Worthington Christian, Fairbanks and Buckeye Valley.

They’ll be favored but Minford is playing with house money. There’s zero pressure whatsoever.

“The bottom line is that we have to stay loose,” Tieman said. “We have to forget about everything outside the four squares of the field. We just have to play our game. This team always looks like they’re loose, which drives me nuts sometimes because I’m used to getting focused and getting mean. But that’s how they play. That’s how they are. They just have to play their game from here on out. It’s bonus time for these seniors. Let’s make another memory.”

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