ALL NWOAL DISTRICT CHAMPIONSHIP … Evergreen’s Addy Gleckler (left) and Peyton Taylor of Delta tussle for the ball in the Division V girls soccer district final. Gleckler’s first half score provided the only goal of the match as Evergreen earned their first-ever trip to the regionals.
By: Joe Blystone
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
publisher@thevillagereporter.com
METAMORA (October 24, 2024) – “And David put his hand in the bag and took out a stone and slung it. And he struck the Phillistine in the head. And he fell to the ground.”
That pre-game locker room declaration from the movie “Hoosiers” has been used many times to ignite underdogs who have been victorious, for many years.
In the Division V District soccer championship game, David became Addy, as in high scoring Evergreen freshman Addy Gleckler.
And it wasn’t a stone she slung. It was a rocket of a rising drive off her right foot into the top shelf of the net for the only goal of the game that gave the Vikings a 1-0 upset victory over top-seeded Delta to win the district title before a large crowd spurred on by a very boisterous student section.
After numerous sectional titles and trips to the district, this was the first time the Vikes have advanced to the regionals in their short nine-year soccer existence.
The Vikings are also in the midst of a six-game winning streak where they have allowed just three goals.
“Our last loss was against Delta (six games ago) in the regular season,” Viking coach Jacob Ott said after the match.
“After that game we sat down and had a heart-to-heart. We knew this team was a lot better than what we showed the last time we played Delta.”
“I really don’t have words to describe it, but this run is incredible. The crowd was electric here tonight and they really helped us out.”
Both teams were more than solid defensively as neither the Vikings nor the Panthers got many quality scoring chances.
Delta got the first real shot of the match nearly ten minutes in when Josephine Maurer got a try from the angle on the right side, but Ellie Nash snagged her shot near the post.
The Panthers had a better attempt with 13 minutes left in the half as Aryha Dunning got loose near the 18, but when Nash came out to close the angle down, Dunning’s shot went wide to keep the game scoreless.
That aspect didn’t last much longer. After Nash cleared the ball deep, Evergreen kept the rock in the Panther end, getting a pair of throw-ins that picked up extra yardage.
On the second throw, Lydia Gleckler out-fought a Delta defender to spin toward the middle and fed Addy Gleckler who then went right-left-right to split two players and blasted a shot the rose above the outstretch arms of Ryllie Taylor for a score with 11:16 left in the half.
“You give her a little bit of space and you’re in trouble,” Ott expressed about Gleckler. “She had a couple of feet is all and took a step and then you know the hard shot is coming.”
DELTA FRESHMAN … Jayden Westmeyer tries to get through two Vikings during the Division V girls soccer final.
Each team managed just four attempts toward the net in the first 40 minutes, Nash making three saves and Taylor two.
The Vikes and Panthers were even more stingy in the second half. Evergreen’s only shot came with 21 minutes left when Lyla Radel roped a shot from the right side that Taylor made a reaching save on.
From that point, for the next 17 minutes, Delta was in the Evergreen half of the field almost the entire time.
However, the Viking back line more resembled Pittsburgh’s Steel Curtain defense as Annabelle Abec, Kara Huntzinger, Lydia Gleckler and Brooklyn Spradlin allowed just one shot, Anna Lohman’s left footer from the middle, that Nash corralled.
“Our defense really doesn’t get the credit they deserve,” Ott said about his back line. “Those back four are all seniors and they are out to prove a point, and they showed that tonight. They deserve all the credit in the world, they are strong defenders, and they take on anyone.”
The Vikings finally got the ball back down into Delta territory in the last four minutes and pinned the Panthers on that side as the clock ran out.
Delta outshot the Vikings 7-5, Nash grabbing five of those. Taylor ended up with three saves for Delta.
The Panthers season ends with a record of 13-4-2. Evergreen (13-5-2) faces Columbus Grove (17-1-2) in a regional semifinal at Port Clinton on Tuesday.