Botkins’ Russell Lenhart chases after a ball during Tuesdays’ Division V district semifinal against Tri-County at Botkins.
BOTKINS – The Botkins Trojans boys soccer shutout Tri-County 8-0 in a Division V district semifinal matchup in Botkins on Tuesday.
“They’re just high school kids,” Botkins head coach Kevin Lynch said. “They want to score right away. We were forcing things in the first half.”
The Trojans got on the board early in the game when Trant Paul snuck a ball past the Tri-County goalkeeper to take a 1-0 lead in less than two minutes of game time.
Paul scored his second goal of the game with just under three minutes to play in the first half, giving Botkins a 2-0 lead after the first.
“We had a lot of opportunities in the first half,” Lynch said. “We kicked it over the net or at the goalkeeper. Once they get a couple, they kind of get some rhythm and go through it.”
The Trojans wasted little time getting back on the board in the second half when Memphis Meyer extended the lead with a goal with 33:48 to play in regulation.
M. Meyer scored again to put Botkins up 4-0 with 27:02 on the clock before John Ratermann nailed a goal a few minutes later to take a 5-0 lead.
With under 20-minutes to play, Evan Grieves notched a header goal on a corner kick from M. Meyer.
“In the second half we switched fields and changed the point of attack,” Lynch said. “We’re a good passing team and our ball movement was great.”
At the 15-minute mark in the second half, Hudson Meyer got his turn to score and gave the Trojans a 7-0 lead before M. Meyer scored to claim a hat trick and end the game due to the mercy rule 8-0.
“Now we’re going to leave the grass and go to turf and the fields are going to shrink a little,” Lynch said. “Our defense has been strong, they say defense wins championships and if you don’t give up a goal you can’t lose.
“Win this one and move on to the next.”
Botkins advances to take on Deer Park on Saturday at 7 p.m. in a Division V district final matchup.
Reach assistant editor / sports writer Ryan Harless at 937-538-4651 or follow @RyanHarless_ on X (formerly Twitter).
