Alayna Mahan turns to celebrate after scoring Bowling Green initial goal just minutes into Wednesday’s district semifinal win over Springfield. (Nicholas Huenefeld | Sentinel-Tribune)
By Nicholas Huenefeld
Special to the Sentinel-Tribune
MILLBURY — A strong start propelled the Bowling Green High School girls soccer team to a 3-0 win over Springfield on Wednesday in a Division III district semifinal at Lake Community Stadium.
In doing so, the Bobcats (9-8-2) advance to the district final round for the first time since 2012, where they will face Sandusky Perkins at 6 p.m. on Saturday.
“We’ve been saying all year that one of our weakest points is our starts,” BG coach Erika Kimple said. “We oftentimes lose games because we start weak and let someone score on us. We told them we have to start strong, we have to be the team that makes the other team think about things at the beginning of the game.
“We changed our lineup just a little bit and played the kids we knew had high intensity. We told them if we score early, we’re probably going to get another one soon after, and we’ll put the game away.”
After two shots off-frame in the second and third minutes, Allison Hover played a through ball to Alayna Mahan, who lofted a shot over the keeper just 3:13 in to give Bowling Green the strong start it desired.
“We just started with so much energy today,” BG’s senior centerback Elena Kramer said. “We decided that we don’t want this to be our last game. We want to win and keep going. Everyone was so focused on winning that we were able to put this together.”
Over the next nine-plus minutes, the Bobcats kept the pressure on as Josie Rigel and Kylah Crawford had shots, and Springfield’s goalkeeper Brynne Murphy also had to make a nice diving grab on a through ball to prevent a shot just under 10 minutes in.
Then, in the final seconds of the 13th minute, Mahan struck a shot that was saved, but Corinna Kramer cleaned up the loose ball to give BGHS a 2-0 lead.
“I honestly think it was just the start (for us),” Kimple said. “When we start strong and score first, we have the confidence to play our game. When we start nervous, scared and afraid, we let the other team take control. Then we get in our heads.
“That was the big thing we talked about was our mindset, making sure we mentally came out and were willing to take risks in the first five minutes. All we asked for is five minutes of high press, work hard, play fast and then we can slow it down after that.”
Springfield had a pair of shots in the 14th and 15th minutes, but neither made it on frame.
Mahan nearly added to the lead twice moments after that.
The first was saved into a corner kick with 24:05 left. The second was a straight-on look from about 10 yards out that went just high with 22:50 left.
After two more shots off-frame, Springfield’s first look against BG goalkeeper, Yari Corado, came with 7:10 left in the half, but it was saved. It was the only shot on goal in the half for the Blue Devils.
Rigel kept up the pressure for Bowling Green as her shot with 3:07 left was deflected for a corner. Just 39 seconds later, senior midfielder Claire Rieman gave the Bobcats a 3-0 lead.
“(This win) means a lot, especially because this is a team that we lost to my freshman year in tournament play,” Rieman said. “It was really cool, a full circle kind of moment, and it’s also special because we haven’t been to the district final in a long time.”
The second half featured much of the same, except for the scoring as BGHS totaled 11 shots, including eight on goal.
Rigel led the way with four shots on goal over the final 40 minutes, while Mahan and Allison Wiles had shots saved in the final 10 minutes.
Springfield (9-7-3) had just two shots in the second half, a look that went high with 32:49 left and a shot that Corado saved with 20:30 remaining as the Bobcats produced their second-consecutive shutout to open tournament play.
“We are just a really close group of people,” Kramer said. “Our communication has been so good this year. Our chemistry makes it so much easier to play.
“Today, we communicated, and we talked to each other … where we were supposed to mark, who we’re supposed to mark on. We were just locked in the whole time.”
In total, BGHS and Springfield combined for 30 total shots, including 23 by the Bobcats, who put 13 of those on goal. Of Springfield’s seven shots, only two were put on frame.
BGHS and Springfield tied in their two regular season matchups, including a 1-1 draw in the regular season finale.
With the sectional final win over Waite last week, the Bobcats snapped a five-game losing streak in postseason play dating back to a loss to Anthony Wayne in a Division I district semifinal in 2019.
Entering this season, BGHS had lost 10 of their past 11 postseason games since 2014. They hadn’t won two such games in the same year since 2012, where they were stopped by St. Ursula in a Division II district final after taking down Defiance and Napoleon in earlier rounds.
“Everybody just played their best,” Kimple said. “They did everything that we’ve asked all year. I feel like it finally got put together. We were calm under pressure, we were moving the ball well, we were being aggressive in the box, we were putting in crosses, and we were positive the whole game. I’m just really proud of them.”
