Derrick Webb, Managing Editor
Southern Ohio Sports Authority is presented by OhioHealth.
WASHINGTON COURT HOUSE — Before Wednesday night’s match even began, Miami Trace had already re-written program history.
The Panthers had set a new record for single-season wins with 12 while boasting of several impressive individual accolades.
And all they did in a must-win game was pile on.
Thanks, in part, to three goals in the final 10 minutes of the first half, Miami Trace (13-4-1) continued to pen history with a 4-0 win over Unioto in a Division IV district quarterfinal.
CREDIT: Derrick Webb/SOSA
The Panthers are headed to their first-ever district semifinal.
“This is huge,” Miami Trace coach Joe Webster said. “Unioto, you saw it tonight, that’s a really, really good team. For the first 15 or 20 minutes, it was really even. But we stuck with our possession, finally broke through and it kind of opened the game up. It’s just a huge win. What we did throughout the season got us seeded pretty well and we were able to get a home game.”
Miami Trace’s offense erupted for a brief time in the first half. But the defense played well throughout the entirety of the game.
The shutout marked the team’s ninth goose egg this fall.
“We have Isabelle [DeBruin] back there, a senior captain that’s our center back and she’s been our leader,” Webster said. “We’ve shuffled a little bit back there because of injuries. So early on, we were a little nervous back there. But I think as the season has progressed, the four that are back there are getting in sync with each other. It’s just being disciplined and knowing when to step up and put pressure on and drop off. They’ve been playing well.”
Marian Mara got the Panthers’ party started.
After each team felt the other out, the junior sent a laser into the right corner of the net with 6:22 left in the first half to give Miami Trace a 1-0 lead.
Mara’s goal seemed to open the floodgates.
PHOTOS: Images from Miami Trace’s district quarterfinal win over Unioto
With 2:01 to go, Elyse Day found an open Nora Morrison in the middle of the pitch and the junior took it from there. Morrison netted her 32nd goal of the season to make it 2-0 and, 58 seconds later, scored her 33rd off an assist from Karleigh Cooper for a 3-0 tally.
Three goals in a little over five minutes and Miami Trace had all but secured a trip to Logan.
“It’s something that can’t be explained but we’ve talked about it all season,” Webster said of the scoring flurry. “Every game this season, we are always creating chances. We’ve always talked about creating those chances because once we get the first goal, things will open up. Things start falling into place and that happened tonight.”
Cooper’s assist on MT’s third goal was her 20th this season — a team-high — and the 44th of her career thus far, alongside 36 goals.
While she didn’t score on Wednesday, she did literally everything else in an elite fashion.
“She never stops,” Webster said of Cooper. “She’s all over the place and she has so much confidence in herself. You’ll think a play is busted and she’ll make something out of it. She has great vision, she’s really good on the ball and she finds teammates.”
The night’s final goal came just after halftime, at the 38:53 mark in the second, off the foot of Emma Hoppes.
It was, essentially, the final nail in Unioto’s coffin as the Panthers ran out the clock on a shutout victory.
While Unioto (11-6-1) sees its season come to a close, Miami Trace will advance to a Division IV district semifinal at 5 p.m., Wednesday at Logan High School.
The Panthers will meet with top-seeded Marietta, who beat Jackson by a 5-0 final to advance.
“I’m expecting that it will be the toughest team we’ve played all season,” Webster said. “We’ve never played them before but I’ve seen their film. They’re very, very good with the ball. We’ve out-possessed every single team we’ve played. This might be the one game where maybe that doesn’t happen. We may have to look to counter. But we’ll still definitely try to play our game.”
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