Matt Walters, left, of Marysville dekes around Westerville Central’s goalie during the Monarchs’ 4-1 win during the Central District semi-finals. Walters did all of the scoring for the Monarchs to advance them to the district finals.
(Journal Tribune photo by Sam Dillon)
––––
The Monarchs of Marysville will be moving on the Central District finals after a 4-1 victory over Westerville Central on Wednesday. The Monarchs can pretty much thank one player for their win, Matt Walters. The senior captain scored all four of Marysville’s goals to push them past the War Hawks.
Walters got the Monarchs on the board early in the first half to take the lead.
The 11th-ranked Hawks, though, did not go quietly in the night. They pushed down to the corner where they were able to find some green space to rip off a shot from 18-yards out.
Monarch keeper Joey Patterson could not reach the ball in time and the game was knotted at 1-1 with 11:30 left in the first half.
Play stayed near the middle of the field with neither team able to create any solid offensive attempts.
The game remained that way until the Monarchs were able to catch a break.
The War Hawks’ keeper made an aggressive move for the ball near the top of the box, but was unable to grab hold of it.
That left the pipes empty and Walters placed a shot high into the top of the goal frame to give the Monarchs a 2-1 lead with five minutes left in the half.
After the turn, each team took a defensive stance, keeping play near the middle of the pitch.
Westerville was able to pressure Patterson with a high shot that just sailed over the crossbar.
Walters then found the back of the net with only 11 minutes left in the match.
He found himself all alone with only the War Hawks keeper to beat after receiving a pass over the middle from fellow captain Max Brennan.
Walters deked to the keeper’s right and placed the ball in the back of the net to give the Monarchs an insurance goal.
Walters, however, wasn’t finished.
With time ticking away, Westerville was pressing with all of their players. The Monarch defense intercepted the ball and went on a quick counter.
The Hawks goalie found himself out of position, which led to Walters placing a shot on the ground that could not be stopped.
The Monarchs (13-1-5), the No. 7 seed, will play on Saturday against No. 10 Hilliard Darby in the Division I district championship game.
The contest will begin at 5 p.m. and will be played at Westerville North High School.