Crusaders blank Ridgewood to reach district final
Andrew Grimm ON THE MOVE — Catholic Central's Aurie Hoover advances the ball past a Ridgewood defender during Monday's East District semifinal.
Andrew Grimm BALL CONTROL — Central's Zelie Baillargeon controls a bouncing ball during Monday's district semifinal.
Andrew Grimm SHOOTING — Central's Zoe Wise takes a shot against Ridgewood.
Andrew Grimm IN PURSUIT — Central's Delaney Dankert pursues the ball during Monday's district semifinal.
Andrew Grimm ON THE MOVE — Catholic Central's Aurie Hoover advances the ball past a Ridgewood defender during Monday's East District semifinal.
Andrew Grimm BALL CONTROL — Central's Zelie Baillargeon controls a bouncing ball during Monday's district semifinal.
Andrew Grimm SHOOTING — Central's Zoe Wise takes a shot against Ridgewood.
Andrew Grimm IN PURSUIT — Central's Delaney Dankert pursues the ball during Monday's district semifinal.
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STEUBENVILLE – The No. 2 seed Catholic Central girls’ soccer came out and executed its gameplan against No. 5 seed Ridgewood.
The Crusaders were able to keep possession of the ball, and the Blue-and-Gold tallied two goals in the first half and went on to defeat the Generals, 3-0, in an Ohio Division Eastern District Semifinal Monday evening down at the Tony Recinella Soccer Field.
“I thought our kids played really well,” Catholic Central (12-5-1) head coach Jonathan Hoover said. “They definitely worked hard. We came in with a gameplan, and the girls went out and executed it. They did a good job.”
Individually for Catholic Central, Zélie Baillargeon tallied two goals, while Zoe Wise scored one. Also, Gigi Rook recorded two assists, while Lily Krivoniak collected one.
Addie Long made two saves in goal on her way to the shutout.
“We played exactly the way we wanted to play,” Hoover said. “We were able to keep possession of the ball. The girls worked hard. They executed what we worked on the last few days.”
With the win, Catholic Central advanced to the district final.
“We are going to go and watch the Bishop Rosecrans-Hiland game,” Hoover said.
Catholic Central will now play No. 4 seed Hiland in the district final at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday night at Sandy Valley. Hiland defeated No. 1 seed Bishop Rosecrans, 1-0, Monday night on the road in the other district semifinal. The Hawks scored an early goal and held on for the victory.
The Crusaders did not play the Hawks during the regular season.
“Hiland is always tough,” Hoover said.
The girls from Jefferson County won both meetings against the Generals (8-8-3) this season. Catholic Central shut out Ridgewood, 5-0, Sept. 10 at home.
“Ridgewood has definitely improved from when we saw them earlier in the season,” Hoover said. “We watched their last game, and we figured out what they wanted to do. We played well.”
The victors played a strong game in the second matchup between the two teams.
“We played a lot cleaner and a lot sharper,” Hoover said. “We knew we had to.”
The victory against the girls from Coshocton County enabled Catholic Central to send its five seniors out with a win in their final game at home.
“You always want to play extra soccer,” Hoover said. “It’s even better when you get to play extra soccer at home. The seniors kept their 100 percent record on their home field in the postseason. That is definitely something to be proud of.”
The five seniors are Aurie Hoover, Delaney Dankert, Monica Bolster, Corrine Lee and Rook.
“We want to keep winning games,” Hoover said. “We want to keep playing soccer. This is our seniors last season. We want to win and advance. That’s the name of the game.”
Catholic Central opened the postseason by shutting out Jefferson County rival and No. 7 seed Edison, 8-0, last Wednesday at home. The game was called early in the second half due to the mercy rule.