Southern Ohio Sports Authority is presented by OhioHealth.
THE PLAINS — Postseason soccer is all about doing whatever it takes to move on.
On Thursday, Hillsboro and Athens were deadlocked at 1 for almost the entire match in a Division II sectional final.
The Indians kept possession in the Bulldogs’ attacking third for the majority of the second half, but Athens held its ground and, in extra time, got the job done in a 2-1 overtime victory — thanks to a game-winning goal from Quinn Murphy.
“This was a good game to start the tournament with,” Athens head coach Nick Bohuslawsky said. “We found out a few things about ourselves tonight, and this showed us where we need to improve for our next game.”
CREDIT: Derrick Webb/SOSA
The match started with both teams playing very aggressive defense, with each side getting off just one shot on target in the first 10 minutes. This lasted until the 26:54 mark in the half, when Athens’ Khyla Brannon set up Murphy for a goal to put the Bulldogs in front first.
“[Murphy]’s been doing this the whole year,” Bohuslawsky said. “She’s always got that fighting spirit and we know we’re always going to get 110 percent out of her every single game.”
It was still early, however, and Hillsboro still had plenty of time to fight back.
The Indians picked up the intensity on offense and worked their way into the attacking third. After a few unsuccessful trips, they finally broke even with 12:09 left in the half, thanks to a goal from Hannah Holland, evening things up at 1-1.
Neither offense could put anything together with the remaining time, bringing the 1-1 tie into the break.
The defenses continued to battle it out to start the second half as the first 15 minutes saw neither team able to get many opportunities at the net.
However, Hillsboro was winning the possession battle and had a chance to score with 21:38 left to play as Peighton Bledsoe had a shot lined up down the middle.
Bledsoe’s attempt was right on target, but Athens keeper Kayla Hammonds — who made nine saves in the match — reached up and deflected it out of bounds with one hand to keep the tie intact.
“I just had to put a hand on it,” Hammonds said. “I knew if I just jumped up, it wasn’t going in the net.”
While both teams had their chances in the time remaining, neither was able to generate any scoring, and the game would be decided with extra time.
However, not much extra was needed. Athens was ready to shut things down.
A little over two minutes into the extra period, Murphy got the ball on the attack and fired at the left corner of the goal, where the ball slipped past the keeper and into the back of the net to crown Athens a sectional champion.
“I’m glad I could score that goal for Kayla [Hammonds] and Bella [Sutton], our two seniors,” Murphy said. “I really wanted it, we really wanted it, and we showed that at the end.”
After winning its second straight sectional title, Athens now eyes a matchup with Marietta — who earned an 8-0 win over Gallia Academy on Thursday night to advance.
The two will meet at 7:30 p.m., Monday at Logan High School in a Division II district semifinal. Marietta previously defeated Athens on Aug. 22, a 2-1 road victory for the Tigers.
“We’ll try to sure up a couple things from tonight and try to keep getting better and better every game,” Bohuslawsky said. “We’ll look back at some film from earlier in the year and make sure our heads are in the right places for Monday.”
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