×

Better late than never for Beaver Local

Beaver Local’s Alexa Schwerha cuts through New Philadelphia’s Kate McEwan and Abby Evans on Monday in Minerva. Also shown is Beaver Local’s Kierra Taylor. (Photo by Joe Catullo)

MINERVA — Despite playing on a turf surface, the Beaver Local girls soccer team was in control in a Div. II district semifinal against New Philadelphia Monday night.

Goalie Jackie Francis kept the beat going with a shutout performance. Even though it took the Beavers a long time to finally score, they put the game out of reach when they did.

“We’ve had a few games on turf, but we’re not particularly used to it,” Beaver head coach Elizabeth Connor said. “The ball got away from us a little. It’s bouncier than what we’re used to, but I think the girls handled it well.”

Kierra Taylor and Alexa Schwerha scored the game’s lone goals in Beaver’s 2-0 victory. The third-seeded Beavers (12-3-2) advance to the district final against Warsaw River View on Thursday at a site to be determined.

“You slide a lot more on turf and the balls are really bouncy. You just have to make sure you keep control of the ball,” Francis said.

Along with playing their own game, the Beavers focused on the Quakers’ Emily Ramey. They wanted to keep her back turned and not get a scoring opportunity.

“We knew that they would be similar to Salem, so we kind of had that mind set,” Connor said. “We knew they like to play the long game with Emily Ramey. We just made sure that she wasn’t seeing the ball going forward and have her back to our players.”

Ramey and New Philadelphia got their first scoring opportunity with 33:34 left in the first half. Francis, though, stopped the momentum-shifter with a save above her head. It was the first of five saves in goal.

“Jackie’s awesome. I’ve played with her since I was little, and I trust her every day she’s back there,” Schwerha said. “She’s one of the best keepers that I’ve seen.”

While Francis kept the Quakers off the board, it was up to the Beavers’ offense to put the game out of reach. Taylor had two open looks in the first half that could find the back of the net.

A 20-yard shot with 18:30 remaining in the first half hit the top of the cross bar. A header with 13:35 remaining found goalkeeper Penelope Cantu’s arms. Despite showing disappointment on her face, Taylor kept at it.

“We talked the whole game, especially at halftime, about facing Minerva in the district semifinals a year ago. We lost in overtime, so we didn’t want this game to go there,” Connor said. “We wanted to finish the 80-minute game. Kierra was getting a lot of opportunities in the first half. We asked her to continue to take good looks.”

Taylor capitalized on a look with 18:45 remaining in the game to score the Beavers’ first goal. Before that, New Philadelphia took possession but was called for a foul.

Approximately 13 minutes later, Schwerha scored her 65th career goal off an assist from Madison Cline.

“We knew that she (Cantu) was playing higher up, so we wanted to chip her,” Schwerha said. “Honestly I didn’t really see what happened. I just saw the ball go up, and I went after it and kicked it.”

“She’s definitely been an offensive threat throughout her years,” Connor said. “She always shows up in big moments. In the South Range game, she scored with less than 30 seconds left in that game. She was able to finish the game off for us today as well.”

Francis gave Taylor and Schwerha their opportunities to put Beaver ahead after two more close calls. With 30:24 left in the game, still tied at 0-0, Francis blocked Meg Maurer’s attempt. A little more than one minute later, she stopped a direct kick from finding the net.

“The pressure’s definitely on when it’s 0-0 and there’s 20 minutes left in the second half,” she said. “You still have that pressure on to try and keep your team in the game.”

The Beavers hope to stay in control against River View for the district title. River View defeated Dover 2-1 on Monday.

Notes

¯ In the other East district bracket, Minerva fell to top-seeded Dresden Tri-Valley 3-0. Tri-Valley will face West Holmes in the other district final on Thursday.

NEWSLETTER

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

I'm interested in (please check all that apply)
Are you a paying subscriber to the newspaper? *
   

Starting at $4.39/week.

Subscribe Today