Marysville’s Caitlin Cotner, right, works the ball against Pickerington Central’s keeper on Wednesday. Cotner scored a goal during MHS’ 2-0 victory in the Division I district semifinal contest. (Journal-Tribune photo by Sam Dillion)
The Lady Monarchs of Marysville advanced to the Division I district soccer title contest with Wednesday’s 2-0 home victory in the semifinals over Pickerington Central.
In doing so, they will stay close to home for Saturday’s 4 p.m. championship match against No. 16-seed Gahanna Lincoln.
The contest will be played at Dublin Jerome.
The second half of Wednesday’s match was the difference between night and day for No. 9 MHS (12-3-3).
The Lady Monarchs could not generate much in the way of offense during the initial 40 minutes.
The No. 21 Tigers also had trouble finding the net as both squads swapped possessions throughout the half.
As a result, the score was deadlocked 0-0 at the turn.
Whatever was said during the 10-minute halftime break worked very well for Marysville.
The Lady Monarchs came out much more aggressively in the second stanza and took charge of field position and ball possessions.
“We attacked the ball much better during the second half,” said MHS head coach Nathan Andrews.
Just what did the coaching staff say during the intermission to spark the team?
“We didn’t have to really say anything,” said Andrews. “The girls knew what they had to do during the second half and talked about it themselves.
“I think it was just a mental thing,” he said. “The girls just went out in the second half and executed the game plan.”
Marysville’s defense remained solid as several Tiger shots or passes were headed off by the Monarchs.
MHS did a better job of pressuring the midfield and kept the ball on Central’s side of the field for much of the time.
Keeper Brielle Young also came up with a handful of saves to keep Pickerington Central off the scoreboard. She finished the contest with nine saves.
The Lady Monarchs broke the scoring ice with 34:36 remaining in the second half.
Pickerington Central’s keeper slipped to the ground while going out to try and defend against MHS’ Caitlin Cotner.
The Lady Monarch senior, who had received a pass from Kindall Duke, maneuvered around the fallen player and scooted the ball into the net for a 1-0 edge.
Marysville tallied an insurance goal nearly two minutes later when Duke hit a shot from the right corner. BB Rabe was credited with the assist.