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Coldwater's Mia Byer (4) battles Fort Jennings' Abbie Kahle for control of the ball during Tuesday's Division V sectional girls soccer final at Cavalier Stadium.
COLDWATER - With the regular season over and Division V tournament play beginning, Coldwater might have overlooked Fort Jennings, a team the Cavaliers defeated 6-0 in the season opener.
That was not the case, as Coldwater outplayed the Musketeers to the tune of a 5-0 win Tuesday night at Cavalier Stadium.
"It's nice to start off a tournament with a game like this," Coldwater coach Paul Dingledine said. "The girls were ready to play, the weather was great, and we played well."
With the win Coldwater moves on to the district semifinals against Delphos St. John's on Monday at 5 p.m. in Ottoville. The Cavaliers and Blue Jays played to a 2-2 draw in the teams' Western Ohio Soccer League match earlier this season.
The match began with Coldwater on the front foot. The Cavaliers created a lot of pressure, and found openings down the wing on both sides. Claire Bertke was the main threat for Coldwater early, as her pace forced the Fort Jennings defense into some tough spots.
The first goal came just 9 minutes into the match. Coldwater had a throw and used their position to throw it into the box. After a few tough moments for the Musketeer defense, Mia Byer ended up with the ball in too good of a spot to miss.
With the momentum now firmly on their side, the Cavs pushed for a second. It came just two minutes after the opener. Bertke raced down the wing, past a defender and calmly slotted it home for a 2-0 lead.
Fort Jennings did not let the early mistakes get to them though. Despite the scoreline, the game slowed down in the first half. The Musketeers had a couple of good chances, but Coldwater keeper Sydney Grieshop kept the ball out of the net.
Coldwater's Sydney Grieshop kicks the ball back into play during Tuesday's match against Fort Jennings.
With under nine minutes left in the first half, Byer struck again for Coldwater. She was on the end of a great cross from Bertke, and with her foot, powered the ball past the keeper to give the Cavs a 3-0 advantage going into halftime.
The score reflected the dominance of Coldwater. They outshot the visitors 14-3, and held a 6-2 advantage in shots on target. The three goals were already more than the Cavs scored in their previous two games to end the regular season.
As the second half started, it was clear Fort Jennings was not done competing. The team held their own and were able to slow the game down to limit the Coldwater chances.
They could only hold on for so long. It was Heidi Wermert this time for Coldwater. She was on the end of another cross, and finished the goal from close range to push the lead to 4-0.
Much like the first pair, the Cavs found their fifth not long after their fourth. Byer completed her hat-trick with a great finish inside the box. With the ball coming down toward her, Byer flung her outside foot toward it, and hit it pure enough to sneak under the crossbar. It was 5-0, and all Coldwater had to do was wait for the clock to hit zero.
"We got a lot of girls in the game tonight that didn't get a chance to play in that first game (against Fort Jennings). That's going to help us down the road," Dingledine said.
Now Coldwater gets another matchup against the Jays. In the first meeting on Aug. 26, Mia Byer's goal with four minutes to play allowed the Cavaliers to rally from a 2-0 deficit to force the tie.
"I'm expecting a very tough game (from Delphos St. John's). They know what we've got, and they know what we have. It's going to be a battle," Dingledine said.
Coldwater's Mariah Bonifas (26) reacts after the ball hits her during Tuesday's tournament match with Fort Jennings.
