Yellow Jackets clinch share of NLL title

PERRYSBURG — Perrysburg girls soccer clinched a share of the Northern Lakes League Buckeye Division championship after a 4-0 victory over Findlay at Steinecker Stadium Wednesday.

Perrysburg remained unbeaten at 12-0-1 overall and 7-0 in the NLL, while Findlay dropped to 5-8-1 and 2-4-1.

The Yellow Jackets’ only remaining league game is at Anthony Wayne (9-4-2, 5-1) in a make-up showdown at 3 p.m. on Saturday. October 14.

A Perrysburg win over AW and the Jackets can celebrate an outright title, but an AW win and the Jackets would have to share with the Generals, if AW also defeats Toledo Whitmer on October 11.

Perrysburg coach Jorge Diaz says he is well aware that the Generals will game plan for the Jackets, even though Perrysburg won 4-1 in their first encounter at Steinecker Stadium on Sept. 20.

The other Perrysburg-AW game scheduled for Whitehouse earlier in the season was postponed because of extreme heat conditions reaching over 90 degrees.

Perrysburg needs a tie or a win in the rematch, but Diaz expects that AW coach Lori Williams is already working on a strategy to counter the Yellow Jackets.

“I think it’s more important than anything, and I think we are ready to beat them again because that’s the most important game of the season and the girls normally race off hot,” Diaz said.

“It’s going to be a wonderful game. It’s going to be a playoff-type game.

“When our first game got canceled I was the one who chose to play at the end of the season because that would be more meaningful to win the NLL then, rather than right now.”

Perrysburg freshman striker Lauren McConnachie, even though a newcomer to the varsity this season, says her team always makes sure to practice and play with the same energy no matter who the opponent is.

“We just always play our game every single game, the same way as always,” McConnachie said.

“We never take it easy and we just practice as hard as we can to prepare for the game. I know it’s going to be the hardest game ever.”

Perrysburg’s game with Findlay was also a rematch, and earlier in the season at Findlay’s Elmer Graham Stadium, the Jackets won 5-2. So, Perrysburg changed up its strategy for Wednesday’s game becasue they didn’t like getting scored upon twice.

As a result, the Jackets’ midfielders controlled possession and the Trojans did not get a single shot on goal.

“I think our three goals every half is to win possession, to score, and not to get scored upon,” Diaz said. “It starts with ball control and controlling the tempo of the game.

“As long as we have (sophomore forward) Emma Ogdahl, our captain right in the middle, (senior midfielder) Avery (Zeisloft), and Brownie (sophomore midfielder Adyson Brown) — they dominated the passes into our forwards,” Diaz continued.

“And we work a lot on finishing from the outside, and we had a nice run on going in and crossing, so we did a good job of that.”

Perrysburg outshot Findlay 16-1, and had a 14-0 advantage on shots on net. Findlay’s first and only shot was by junior midfielder Kamryn Gearig from 30 yards out with 10 minutes remaining in the game, and it went just wide left. The Jackets were not going to allow the Trojans to score on a big shot.

“We felt like it was important,” McConnahie said. “We all talked about it and we were all preparing for it because the last game when we played them they had a really big shot from midfield.

“So, we just made sure they didn’t get shots from midfield and pressed them as hard as we could.”

Perrysburg had a 6-2 advantage in corner kicks, and the the game got more and more physical as Findlay was whistled for eight second half fouls. By game’s end, each team committed nine fouls, but five Perrysburg fouls were called for offsides.

Four different Perrysburg players scored, with the Jackets owning a 3-0 lead by halftime.

McConnahie sent a cross from the far left corner which sophomore midfielder Camille Francis caught perfectly, and sent a header into the net from the opposite side eight minutes and 27 seconds after the opening kickoff.

Just one minute and 28 seconds later, senior defender Ashlyn Haeft sent a through ball to sophomore forward Emma Ogdahl, who beat the defense, broke away, and beat Findlay senior goalkeeper Zoe McCormick to put Perrysburg up 2-0.

Late in the first half, McConnahie had a shot, passed it up, spun around, and then took the shot, scoring from 20 yards to put Perrysburg ahead 3-0 with 3:48 remaining in the first half.

Six minutes into the second half, Ziesloft took control in the left corner, just outside the keepers’ box, and crossed downfield a short way to freshman striker Elyza Byrd, who sent a 30-yard high, angled shot over the head of McCormick, giving the Jackets their final goal.

On a team that is ranked fourth in the Division I state coaches’ poll but has just two seniors, Francis leads Perrysburg in scoring with 32 points on 13 goals and six assists, Ogdahl has 11 goals and seven assists, and Zeisloft has four goals and six assists.

McConnahie has two goals and 10 assists, junior forward Alexis Kaufold has five goals and two assists and junior midfielder Grace Langendonk has one goal and eight assists.

Five of the top six scorers who have reached double figures in points are underclassmen, and 16 different players have scored for Perrysburg this season.

Plus, junior Elizabeth Motter and freshman Tori Trzinski, as they typically do, split one half in goal during the win over Findlay, although neither needed a save to get Perrysburg it’s ninth clean sheet of the season.

Because of the youth on this team, McConnahie says that getting a championship now makes it that much more meaningful.

“It means a lot because I feel like, my freshman year, it is different because I know the next four years will be very exciting and for the new players who come in, I can share that moment with them,” McConnahie said.