JA’s Alex Shaw (12) attempts to sift past a Lady Warrior defender. Also pictured is Alder’s Ava Ater (24). The Lady Pioneers ended their season Wednesday in the second round of the OHSAA district bracket, 4-1. (Journal-Tribune photo by Aleksei Pavloff)
Wednesday night was the end of the road for Jonathan Alder girls’ soccer team.
The Lady Pioneers lost in the second round of the Division II tournament to Worthington Christian 4-1.
“We weren’t changing our game plan much… we didn’t think we needed to change anything,” coach Nathaniel Byrum said. “We thought that playing possession and keeping our feet was going to be our best opportunity to win.”
JA went into the contest coming off a first round win against Licking Valley where the seventh- seeded Lady Pioneers overtook the Lady Panthers, 1-0.
The Lady Pioneers were on the defensive side quickly after the No. 5 Lady Warriors systemically marched down to attempt their first shot with roughly 37 minutes left to go in the first half.
That dictated much of the first half with JA on its heels against the opposing offense.
It was not until midway through the first half that Worthington Christian’s solid ball movement became burdensome. With 23:18 left in the first half, the Lady Warriors scored its first goal.
The Lady Pioneers became victims once again as Worthington Christian’s offensive vigilance paid off with just six minutes left to play until halftime.
Sprinting past Lady Pioneer defenders, a move to the post forced JA goalie Sophie Schaefer to adjust to one limited section of the goal leading to a pass in the middle. As such, WC claimed its second goal.
At the halfway point, Byrum noted the team’s strategy had to adjust and become more aggressive if there were any chances of getting shots off. In the first half, Worthington Christian made a solid effort in quelling any offensive momentum.
“We thought after the first goal the girls played a little too defensive… that actually hurt us because we did not have any offense,” he said. “There is no reason to sit back and play defense when you needed a goal… we told them the game was not over.”
In the midst of cold conditions, the Lady Warriors increased the lead to 3-0 with roughly 35 minutes left in the match.
Another Lady Warrior goal connected with 25 minutes left to play, dwindling the hopes of a major JA comeback with ample time left.
At that point, Worthington Christian was able to record eight shots on goal with Schaefer taking credit for four saves.
After the fourth goal, Byrum and the coaching staff opted to substitute Schaefer with Ashley Warren with 21:30 left to play.
JA’s offense began to click after it started to push the midfield line up towards Worthington Christian’s goal. Fighting with effort, the Lady Warriors also started to hunker down on the defensive end.
“In the first half we were attacking with three [players] against their four [defenders],” Byrum said. “We told them we wanted to get the midfield involved to get the numbers up.”
Even with the dire circumstances, JA persisted with the team scoring its only goal with less than 30 second left to play.
The Lady Pioneers recorded three shots on the opposition’s goal. along with three saves on their own.
WC claimed nine shots on JA’s goal with two saves on their side.
After the match was concluded, the team congregated together as the seniors tearfully said goodbye to the game.
“I’m super proud what they did over their four years,” Byrum said.
This is the first year Byrum and his coaching staff has worked with the young ladies. With six seniors leaving the program — Jhesica Ruach, Katie Hooley, Chloe Thomas, Emma Rector, Elizabeth Chin and Ashley Warren — Byrum is looking forward to cultivating the young talent his staff has.
“We’ve got a lot of upcoming freshman and sophomores coming back next year so in another year we will be in a much better spot,” Byrum said.