Cavaliers edged by Wildcats

COLDWATER - Two first half goals by Miller City put Coldwater on its heels. Even though the Cavaliers had a number of good chances to tie the match in the second half, they missed several by the closest of margins in falling to the Wildcats 2-1 in the Division III girls soccer sectional semifinals at Cavalier Stadium on Tuesday night.

Miller City (3-10-3) advances to face Lima Central Catholic on Saturday at noon in Lima. The Cavaliers end the season at 6-9-1.

The Wildcats' speed caught the Cavaliers off guard early when Megan Niese scored on a breakaway with 35:26 left in the first half on the first shot attempt by Miller City.

Coldwater freshman Maura Hoying, who was defended closely by the Wildcats, had a couple of good chances to level the score, including a header in the box that bounced off the cross bar with less than 30 minutes to go in the opening half.

The Wildcats made it 2-0 with 3:56 left as Tiffany Welty hit a long kick that got past Cavalier keeper Alanna Severt and dribbled into the back of the net.

"At halftime, I felt we were okay. We outshot them at halftime," Coldwater coach Scott Brinkman said.

Coldwater's defense played better and held the Wildcats to just three shots in the second as the Cavaliers tried to find a way to get into the match.   

"I thought we rebounded well after that," Brinkman said. "It wasn't like they were beating down the door, but they made it count. That's all that matters."

Ten minutes into the second half, the Cavaliers got their first break as Hoying took the ball at midfield and worked her way through the Miller City defense, putting the ball past Amanda Simon with 30:16 left in regulation to make it a one-goal match.

The Cavaliers continued to pressure Simon to get the equalizer, but Simon made several big saves, the biggest coming with 3 1/2 minutes to play when Abby Schritz kicked the ball from 20 yards out. It appeared the ball would bend just enough to hit the top left corner of the goal, but Simon leaped and batted the ball away harmlessly. Coldwater tried to get another chance, but Miller City's defense kept the ball out of harm's way to end the match.

"It's the cruel part of the game," Brinkman said. "You can do all of the right things and Marua hits the crossbar instead of a header or Abby had a pretty good shot and couldn't get it. We had some opportunities.

"(Miller City) made it stand up and we didn't. That's the key. A lot of credit to them."