Lehman Catholic’s Melanie Karn takes off with the ball during a Division V district semifinal in Botkins on Monday. The Cavaliers won 2-0 to advance to a district final. They will face Madeira on Thursday at Trotwood-Madison.
Ryan Harless | Sidney Daily News
BOTKINS — The No. 6 seed Lehman Catholic Cavaliers girls soccer team advanced to a Division V district final with a 1-0 victory over the No. 4 seed Botkins Trojans on Monday.
“Every single one of them battled out there,” Cavaliers head coach Oshae Peart said following the victory . “With the season being as rough as it was, for us to make it to the district finals, I’m so proud of them.”
Both teams jockeyed for the upper hand for nearly the entire first half before Lehman freshman Kaelynn Walker was able to find the back of the Botkins’ net to give the Cavaliers (7-10-1) a 1-0 lead with five-minutes left in the first.
“I’m kind of getting emotional thinking about it,” Peart said, speaking on Walkers’ goal. “She’s a freshman and she gives it her all.”
The Trojans fought and had their fair share of shots on goal, but Lehman goalkeeper Callie Giguere was flawless on the night.
“I’ve been coaching for almost 20-years,” Botkins head coach Lil Carson said of Giguere. “She’s one of the best high school keepers I’ve ever seen. She kept them in the game and we couldn’t find a way to beat her.”
The loss signals the end of a historic season for the Trojans as first year head coach Carson brought the team a share of the Western Ohio Soccer League title as well as taking them to a district semifinal for only the second time in program history.
“We graduated eight last year,” Carson said. “Only six girls back that have seen significant playing time last year. Of our eight new girls, only one of them had played soccer in the last four years. We were very young and inexperienced. That in combination with a new coach coming in meant we took a lot of lumps at the beginning of the season.”
Botkins (10-8-1) played the entirety of the tournament without the WOSL offensive player of the year in Dee Dee Pitts who had been sidelined with an injury.
“It sucked but we played the tournament without her so we essentially have our whole team coming back next year,” Carson said.
“Day by day, that’s how we do it,” Peart said. “One game at a time, one team, one goal. This game is just about heart. That’s why I tear up talking about them, they’ve been through a lot and they did it. I’m just here to help and they made me proud.”
Lehman takes on Maderia in Trotwood on Thursday at 7 p.m.
Anna falls to Greenview 2-0 in district semifinal
The No. 3 seed Anna Rockets fell to the Greeneview Rams 2-0 in a district semifinal on Monday in Jamestown.
The No. 2 seed Rams scored both goals in the first half.
Anna finishes the year 10-5-3 overall.
Reach assistant editor/sports writer Ryan Harless at 937-538-4651 or follow @RyanHarless_ on X (formerly Twitter).
