Cavaliers rally to beat Wildcats

OTTOVILLE - A change of sides and wind direction paid dividends for a Coldwater squad trailing 1-0 at the half after scoring an own goal.

The Cavaliers scored three goals in a span of less than eight minutes in the second half to defeat top-seeded Delphos Jefferson 3-2 in the Division III district girls soccer semifinals at Ottoville High School on a wet and windy Wednesday afternoon.

The Cavaliers (9-8-1) face Kalida in the district final at noon on Saturday. The LadyCats beat Ottoville 3-0 in the nightcap.

Coldwater makes the district final for the second time in the seven-year history of the program. The other time was 2012 when the Cavaliers lost to Kalida at Bath.

"It's special for the girls," Coldwater coach Scott Brinkman said. "We thought coming in (to the season) that we had an opportunity to play (this far in the tournament). (Jefferson) is a great team. They didn't win 13 games for nothing."

Jefferson, which entered the game 13-0-4 and had beaten Coldwater 4-3 during the regular season, got the early lead when Northwest Conference Player of the Year Maddie McConnahea broke free and kicked a shot toward the Cavalier goal. Coldwater keeper Brittany Muhlenkamp deflected the ball away, but the loose ball was struck by a Coldwater defender and rolled into the goal at the 32:40 mark of the first half.

"We just talked about the games we played this year. We have the ability to score goals and didn't think that one goal would be the difference," Brinkman said. "It's disappointing to give up a goal early ... but it's an 80-minute game, so we had 70 minutes to get it back."

Coldwater continued to work hard to get the equalizer but had to deal with a stiff wind in their faces while trying to move the ball. Nevertheless, the Cavaliers outshot the Wildcats 6-2 in the first half.

With the change of fields came a change of wind. The Cavaliers used the wind to their advantage and went to work. Brianna Schneider found Maura Hoying, who was able to break away from the pressure. Hoying dribbled the ball in and put the shot past Jessica Pimpas at the 25:42 mark of the second half to knot the match up.

Less than seven minutes later, Lexi Meyer was in perfect position to take a rebound shot to give the Cavaliers a 2-1 lead with 18:51 left.

Finally, with 17:54 left, Hoying took the ball outside the box and worked her way inside to score her second goal of the match to make it 3-1.

"We talked at halftime about what one goal meant," Brinkman said. "We really thought we could get some goals. We had that stretch in the second half where we were able to get some goals together. We played as well as we have played in that eight minutes."

The last goal proved vital as McConnahea was able to break free from the defense and score with 11:45 left to cut it to 3-2.

Jefferson tried to turn up the offensive pressure and use its speed to level the match, but the Coldwater defense rose to the occasion to celebrate the win.

"I think we dominated the second half," Brinkman said. "(Jefferson) didn't have too many chances. That Maddie McConnahea is something else. Gee, she is a handful and then some."