Marysville’s Tyler Hamlett (top) prevents a Worthington Kilbourne player from scoring a goal Tuesday evening. The Wolves, however, beat Marysville, 5-0, in a Division I district semifinal game. (Journal-Tribune photo by Tim Miller)
The tone was set early Tuesday evening when the Marysville High School boys soccer team played in the Division I district semifinals at Worthington Kilbourne.
The Wolves, who are the No. 1 seed in the post-season, earned a goal from Logan Evans nearly 12 minutes into the contest and went on to defeat the No. 20 Monarchs, 5-0.
Kilbourne (15-0-3) added a score by Chris Guerra on a free kick approximately seven minutes later.
“Those two early goals were just too much for us to overcome,” said Monarch head coach Terry Smith.
The Wolves controlled the ball in Marysville’s half of the field for much of the night and kept MHS’ keepers on their toes.
Grant Kaifas started in the net for the Monarchs (10-8-0) and played the majority of the game.
Jeriah Hanf came on in relief late in the contest and combined with Kaifas for eight saves.
MHS rarely had scoring opportunities as the Wolves maintained ball possession and field position.
Kilbourne also used its speed to cut off Monarch passing lanes.
Gabe Porter tallied a score with 14:40 left on the opening-half clock that pushed Kilbourne out to a 3-0 advantage.
Jay Shaver found the net for the Wolves with 9:19 remaining in the stanza.
His score sent the home team into the turn with a 4-0 margin.
Kilbourne added its final score within the first 30 seconds of the second half on a shot by Guerra.
Armed with a 5-0 advantage, the Wolves played possession soccer for a good portion of the second stanza.
The Monarchs had a handful of scoring opportunities, but Kilbourne keeper Tyler Katz turned those away and finished the evening with four saves.
“The biggest thing I’m proud of is that we competed and kept fighting,” said Smith. “We knew we didn’t have much margin for error going into this game and we made a few mistakes.”
Smith praised MHS seniors Logan Clute, Joey Duke, Tyler Hamlett, Luke Hoile, Dakota Evans, Zach McIntosh, Hanf and Ryan Walters (a four-year letterman) for their work over the years.
“Those guys compiled a record of 37-18-15,” he said. “They were district semifinals in 2016 and 2019 and made it to the district finals two years ago.
“It was a great four years by the seniors,” said Smith.
A Worthington Kilbourne player grabs a fistful of Joey Duke’s jersey during Tuesday’s Division I tournament game. Also pictured for the Monarchs is Ryan Walters (12). (Journal-Tribune photo by Tim Miller)