The Daily Standard
Story Archive
St. Marys' Emma Freewalt (27) battles Celina's Hailey Garrity for the ball during Tuesday's WBL girls soccer match at the soccer stadium. Freewalt scored both St. Marys goals in the final 15 1/2 minutes of the match to give the Roughriders a 2-1 win over the Bulldogs.
CELINA - A later start allowed for some cooler conditions, but it did not turn down the heat for the girls' soccer edition of the Battle of Grand Lake.
Celina got a goal with just over three minutes remaining in the first half and were determined to keep St. Marys off the board for its fourth shutout in five matches this season.
St. Marys finally got the equalizer from Emma Freewalt with 15 minutes to play, then Freewalt put in the go-ahead goal with under 90 seconds remaining to lift the Roughriders to a 2-1 victory in the Western Buckeye League opener for both teams at the soccer stadium in Celina.
The Riders even their overall record at 1-2 as Celina suffers its first loss in five matches this season.
"It's everything you'd expect from St. Marys-Celina," said Riders coach Nick Wilson. "It's never dull, that's for certain."
Celina's Bria Pearson (12) stretches to kick the ball away from St. Marys' Claire Turner during Tuesday's WBL girls soccer match in Celina.
The afternoon heat prompted the schools to move the start time to 8 p.m. to allow some cooler temperatures with the setting sun.
With the clock under 3 1/2 minutes to play in the first half, Rachel Rammel snared a pass from midfield just outside the 18-yard box, moved the ball into the box and put it past Rider keeper Leah Brackman with 3:22 remaining in the half to give Celina the lead.
"We were disappointed with our possessions in the first half," said Wilson. "It's such a challenge to come from a much-larger (regulation-size) field to a smaller field. We worked on that during the week in terms to scaling down the size of passes. It's didn't really kick in."
Both teams continued to play solid defense against the other through the first 24 minutes of the second half. Celina had several chances to pad the lead, only for the Roughriders and Brackman to make the stops
The tide finally turned for St. Marys with just under 15 1/2 minutes to play. Freewalt recovered the ball after it deflected off a Celina player just at the top of the 18-yard box, turned around and floated a shot that was just out of reach of Celina keeper Alaina Vehorn, leveling the game at 1-all with 15:26 to play.
Over the next 12 minutes both teams had potential go-ahead goals just trickle past the goal.
Just when it looked like the match would end in a draw, another deflected ball decided the match. A pass by Lauren Jacobs deflected off a Celina player right in front of Freewalt just inside the box. Despite being double teamed, Freewalt broke free and slipped the ball past a charging Vehorn with 1:22 to play to make it 2-1.
"Emma's like a quiet assassin," said Wilson of his senior co-captain. "Nothing super flashy, but she gets the job done and does it well."
Celina tried to work for a chance to level the match again, but Rammel's 20-yarder with under 20 seconds to play was scooped up by Brackman to seal the deal.
Both teams will play Saturday non-league matinees as St. Marys hosts Bellefontaine and Celina hosts Bluffton.
Celina's Campbelle Gass (11) and Jacci Felver (13) chase the ball with St. Marys' Kelly Holsinger.
