Lady Jays weather storm vs. Pirates

By Jim Metcalfe, The Delphos Herald
Published:  Wednesday, October 1, 2008 (3 months, 1 week ago)
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BLUFFTON — Thunderstorms pushed back the start of the St. John’s at Bluffton girls soccer match 40 minutes Monday night.
It was worth the wait for the Lady Blue Jays, who got on the board in the first half and then held off the Lady Pirates with a late tally for a 2-0 triumph on the slippery pitch of Steinmetz Field.
“Bluffton is a tough team every year; they beat us last year. It was crucial for our confidence to get the first goal and get the lead,” Jays coach Jodi Hoersten asserted. “That gave us some momentum. We’ve struggled to score this year, so that was big.  Bluffton’s had its share of tough luck, too.”
Both teams had chances but most of them were either from outside the box (St. John’s) and made for easy saves for senior Pirate keeper Jonica Schmutz (9 saves, 13 shots) or closer shots (Bluffton) that sophomore Samantha Stant (8 saves vs. 10 shots) gobbled up.
Schmutz kept the Jays (6-6-1) off the board at 14:23 of the first half when she dove to grab a 15-yarder by Bailey Calvelage.
Just 1:02 later, Schmutz fell on a cross from left to right by senior Tori Recker but the Jays couldn’t get a point-blank shot into the open net.
Perhaps Bluffton’s 2-11 season could be summed up at 6:59 when Jenny Steinmetz’s 15-yarder on the left wing hit the cross bar and bounced back into the field of play but the defense cleared it.
“We hit the bar once and the post later; another two inches one way or another and it’s 2-0,” Bluffton coach Dan Lee explained. “We’ve been that close in so many of our games. We’ve battled injuries all year but we’re starting to get some of them back.”
The Jays finally got on the board with 3:03 left before intermission. Calvelage made a great effort to keep possession on the right wing; her cross to the far post found fellow sophomore Becca Saine for an in-close shot that snuck past Schmutz for a 1-0 lead.
With fog rolling in more and more at the half, weather threatened to play more of a factor the second half. Fortunately, it didn’t.
Both teams had early chances: Bluffton at 36:29 when a 15-yarder by Lydia Guagenti was thwarted by Stant; St. John’s at 33:42 when junior Tatum Mauk shook loose but was stopped by Schmutz.
Bluffton came oh-so-close to tying the match with 23:23 on the clock. Off a corner, Amber Shelly’s 8-yard header hit off the right post; the follow-up shot by Steinmetz was denied by Stant.
The Blue Jay defense — with the likes of Raegan and Morgan Haines and Alicia Ankerman spearheading the back line — held off a determined Bluffton squad.
The Jays finally could breathe a sigh of relief with 32.9 ticks to go. Saine and Recker teamed up to get the senior a 1-on-1 with Schmutz on the right post. Her 12-yarder got inside that post for the 2-0 margin.
“Our defense was excellent; we gave them a couple of good looks and that was it. We had excellent defensive pressure,” Hoersten added. “Our passing game continues to improve, especially our through balls and our drops.”
The Jays host Bath at 5 p.m. Thursday.
“I was pleased with how we played today. We played hard and we played well,” Lee added.
Bluffton hosts Jefferson under the lights (7 p.m.) Thursday.

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