Big Red girls start tourney strong
Andrew Grimm GOAL — Big Red players celebrate with Brynn Bowers after she scored during Wednesday's East District tournament opener at Harding Stadium.
Andrew Grimm IN CONTROL — Big Red's Brynn Bowers makes a move with the ball.
Andrew Grimm RACE — Big Red's Jolee Lombardo looks to beat a John Glenn player to a loose ball.
Andrew Grimm A STEP AHEAD — Big Red's Lucy Saccoccia gets ready to take a shot ahead of a John Glenn defender.
Andrew Grimm GOAL — Big Red players celebrate with Brynn Bowers after she scored during Wednesday's East District tournament opener at Harding Stadium.
Andrew Grimm IN CONTROL — Big Red's Brynn Bowers makes a move with the ball.
Andrew Grimm RACE — Big Red's Jolee Lombardo looks to beat a John Glenn player to a loose ball.
Andrew Grimm A STEP AHEAD — Big Red's Lucy Saccoccia gets ready to take a shot ahead of a John Glenn defender.
Trending
STEUBENVILLE – The Big Red girls’ soccer team jumped on John Glenn from the outset.
Big Red – the No. 3 seed – tallied three goals in a little more than 11 minutes to start the game en route to defeating the sixth-seeded Muskies, 8-0, via mercy rule in an Ohio Division III Eastern District Sectional Co-Final/District Quarterfinal Wednesday night on Reno Saccoccia Field inside historic Harding Stadium.
“We saw them a couple of weeks ago, and it took us a whole half to get going,” Big Red (10-6-2) head coach Annie Cutri said. “Tonight, we wanted to come out guns blazing. We wanted to set the tone for a potential playoff run.”o lead
Big Red shut out John Glenn, 2-0, Oct. 10 on the road.
“We came out and played hard,” Cutri said about the differences in the two games. “We put a lot of pressure on them in our attacking third. We wanted to take them on 1-v-1. We wanted to shoot. We wanted to crash the goal. Everything we have talked about all season finally came together tonight.”
The Red-and-Black built a 6-0 lead at halftime, and the hosts netted the game-ending goal with 24:04 showing on the running scoreboard clock.
Gianna Thomas tallied four goals to lead the way offensively for the girls from Jefferson County, Brynn Bowers recorded two goals and three assists and Lucy Saccoccia collected a goal and two assists. Also, Kenzy Petrelle contributed a goal for the girls in black.
Jodeci Green made one save in goal for the victors.
With the win, Big Red will play No. 1 seed Beaver Local in the district semifinals at 6:30 p.m. Monday on the road. Beaver Local advanced to the district semifinals by dispatching No. 9 seed New Philadelphia, 5-0, Wednesday night.
The game will be the third meeting of the season between Big Red and the Beavers, and it will be the third one played up at Pastore Field. The girls from Columbiana County won both previous encounters. Beaver Local defeated Big Red, 3-1, in the regular season Sept. 15 and then again 4-3 in an OVAC Class 5A Tournament Semifinal.
“Third time’s a charm,” Cutri said. “We are going to have to shutdown their key players. If we come out play like we did tonight, we will be just fine.”
Big Red has won five-straight games.
“It’s nice to win a playoff game,” Cutri said. “It’s good to win one at home. We want to build off this. We want to continue to play well. I think the girls realize their potential. They came out tonight and played with intensity. What we have been talking about all season finally came out tonight.”
The Muskies end the season with a record of 5-10-3.
“The girls played a great game,” Cutri said. “Kudos to John Glenn. No. 20 (Anna Wolfe) is a solid player. She’s a sophomore. She’s a player to watch.”