Botkins’ Rylyn Paul attempts to steal the ball from Legacy Christian’s Justin Graves during a Division III district semifinal on Wednesday at Athletes in Action in Xenia. Paul, who was named the Western Ohio Soccer League offensive player of the year, is one of five seniors the squad will lose to graduation.
Luke Gronneberg | Sidney Daily News
XENIA — Botkins had another strong season come to an end in a Division III district semifinal on Tuesday.
The Trojans lost 2-0 to Xenia Legacy Christian at Athletes in Action’s soccer field and finish 14-4-1 overall. It’s the fifth straight year Botkins has advanced to at least the third round of postseason play.
“It’s tough. Obviously we wanted to get back to district (finals) this year,” Botkins coach Kevin Lynch said. “… Our three losses (in regular season) were against three of the best teams (in the area), and Legacy is really strong.”
“… But it was a good year. The kids work hard, they’re fun to be with, they give everything they’ve got.”
The Knights (14-3-2) scored one goal in each half. Parker Burke scored a goal early in the first half and added a second late in the second half; he has scored 31 goals this season and has 15 assists.
“He’s one of the best players in the Miami Valley,” Lynch said. “We can’t give him the ball in the middle from 20 yards out. He’s going to put it in the back of the net, like he did.
“… We had a couple off the post. Sometimes it’s hard. It was a strange game. We had a lot of possession. We just didn’t do good when we had possession. We had trouble breaking down their back line. Obviously when they got the lead, they put a lot of people back there. We just didn’t do good with our combination play through the back line.
“We played good. I don’t think the boys gave up or anything. They played hard until the end.”
Botkins, which was the No. 5 seed in the Dayton D-III sectional, railed from a 1-0 halftime deficit to beat No. 4 Yellow Springs 2-1 on the road on Saturday to advance to Tuesday’s match.
District semifinals had previously been held at neutral locations, but this year the Southwest District Athletic Board changed the setup to having the higher seed host. Botkins was forced to make another trek to Greene County to play No. 3 Legacy Christian.
The Knights play at Athletes in Action’s complex, which has field turf. The scoreboard at the field wasn’t operating on Tuesday.
“I know it’s not their fault the clock’s not working, but it’s different for us,” Lynch said. “We’re used to having the clock, looking up and seeing how much time is left. We didn’t have that tonight.”
The Trojans will lose five seniors to graduation, including Western Ohio Soccer League offensive player of the year Rylyn Paul. Paul, who scored one goal on Saturday at Yellow Springs, finished with 33 goals this season.
The squad will also lose Reise Aselage, Jack Steinke, Keegan Thorpe and Navroj Singh to graduation. Aselage was a first team all-WOSL selection alongside Paul.
“They kept up (the expectations),” Lynch said. “… They did a good job. I told the boys if you walk off the field knowing you gave everything you’ve got, I can accept the loss.
“… It’s going to be tough losing Rylyn, Reise and Jack. It’s tough, because at our school, you’re with them for a long time. I’ve been coaching Rylyn since he was probably 12 years old. It was nice to see him grow and turn into a really nice player. He’ll be big shoes to fill next year.”
Jackson Center finishes 12-4-3
Jackson Center’s season came to an end with a 3-1 loss to Miami East on Monday in Jackson Center.
Jackson Center, which was the Dayton D-III sectional’s No. 6 seed, finishes 12-4-3 overall.
The Tigers will lose six seniors to graduation, including Trever Huber and Xavier Lowe, who were first team all-WOSL selections. Senior Gavin McClintock was a second team all-WOSL selection.
Huber scored 12 goals and had 11 assists this season while McClintock scored nine goals.
Sidney, Lehman Catholic, Fairlawn seasons end
Sidney finished 6-11-2 after a 6-0 loss to Springboro, the top seed in the Dayton D-I sectional, last Tuesday.
The Yellow Jackets will lose nine seniors to graduation, including goalkeeper Braxton Brewer, who had 180 saves. He was a second team all-Miami Valley League selection, along with seniors Graham Van Tilburgh and Joey Flynn. Van Tilburgh scored a team-high 15 goals and had five assists.
Lehman finished 2-15 after a 4-0 loss to Botkins in a tournament opener last Tuesday. The Cavaliers will lose two seniors to graduation in John Moloney and Gus Schmiesing, who was a second team all-Three Rivers Conference selection.
Fairlawn finished 3-11 after a 7-0 loss to Yellow Springs in a tournament opener last Tuesday. Among the players the Jets will lose to graduation are Logan Hollenbacher and Trey Sparks, who were second team all-WOSL selections.
