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September 25, 2003 |
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Boys soccer team improves to 10–0 When they stepped off their home field last Thursday evening, the Bulldogs couldn’t decide who had scored the first goal against Xenia. Coach Jim Hardman wasn’t sure whether it was Anthony Brandon or Ryan Silvert, and assistant coach Ben VanAusdal wasn’t even certain it was a Bulldog who put the ball in.
“I tapped it in,” Brandon said. “I had it on the put back,” Silvert retorted, as they squabbled in jest after the game. But it was certainly a well-rehearsed effort of the whole that secured the Bulldogs’ 2–0 win over the Buccaneers, the first in two years, giving YSHS a 10–0 record, which has area soccer coaches talking. The Bulldog sit atop Division III in the Miami Valley Soccer Coaches Association. YSHS is ranked seventh in the state in Division III by the Ohio Scholastic Soccer Coaches Association. So far the team is living up to its accolades. The Bulldogs’ win over the Buccaneers, ranked eighth among Division I schools in the Dayton area, is just one example. The first half featured plenty of heavy contact, as Xenia dominated by shoving and stripping, but neither team could score a goal. One minute into the half YSHS goalie Matt Phillips held off the opposition leaping out of a gaggle of brawny Bucks to catch a corner kick. A few minutes later he slid feet first into a Buccaneers’ charge for another save before the Bulldogs were able to take control on offense. The disputed goal, the first of the night, came well into the second half when Duncan Silvert-Noftle pitched a ball from the right wing into the Bucs’ key, leading to a free-for-all. Brandon got official credit for the score. With the crowd fired up, and not much time to spare, Xenia got aggressive and took down Silvert-Noftle just outside the Bucs’ penalty box. YSHS was awarded a penalty kick. The ’Dogs tried a bit of trickery during which Scott Keyes faked a kick. He was followed by Aaron Zagory, whose shot deflected off a Bucs defender and into the goal, giving the Bulldogs a 2–0 win. Two days later, the Bulldogs traveled to Cincinnati Christian where, even without several injured key starters, the Bulldogs managed another win, this time 3–0. The Bulldogs got on the scoreboard just before the half when Noah Woodburn headed the ball in from five yards out, off a pass from Silvert. In the second half, the ’Dogs increased their lead to 2–0 when Woodburn intercepted a Cougar throw-in and headed the ball to Silvert-Noftle, who slotted his shot into the near-post netting from 15 yards out. About eight minutes later, Silvert-Noftle poked a cross from Keyes in front of the Cougars’ goal. Woodburn then came crashing through the defense and blasted the ball into the open goal. With Phillips injured, the YSHS defense rallied around substitute goalie John Pamplin, who played a solid game. “A lot of ink gets used to describe what our talented offense does with the ball, but the other side of the story of our success this year is what’s happening on the defensive end of the field,” Hardman said. “Our defenders, Michael Hosket, David Suzel, Nic Huneck, Aaron Zagory, Scott Keyes, Matt Phillips and John Pamplin, have combined for eight shutouts in 10 games and allowed only three goals. This is one of the top defenses in the state.” —Lauren Heaton The YSHS golf team battled thick fog on Saturday to finish third at the Metro Buckeye Conference meet at Locust Hills. Teeing off at no later than 6:52 a.m., assistant coach Gerry Simms helped the Bulldogs score 353, just behind Troy Christian’s 350 and Miami Valley’s 344. YSHS golfer Rory Hotaling shot 73, for one over par, beating out 29 other athletes in the match and capturing the day’s only medal. Hotaling’s closest competition was a Miami Valley School golfer, who shot 81. Even with a soccer injury that prevented him from bending over to read his putts, Hotaling shot 36 on the front nine and 37 on the back nine. Bulldog Francis Gayek shot an 85 and had the shot of the day on a par three. After a horrible tee shot that went into a bunker, Gayek sank his second shot, even though he could barely see the pin. Missing a cross country meet to attend the match, David Warren shot 43–45. First-year player Dustin Rudegeair just needed a chance to warm up, as he improved his score on the back nine by 13 strokes. Alex Melecki also played a solid game to add to the Bulldogs’ score. The Bulldogs defeated Cedarville, 175–196, at Locust Hills again on Thursday, Sept. 18. Rudegeair was the player of the day, shooting a 49, his best score all season. YSHS will play in the Division III sectional tournament this morning (Thursday) at Pleasant Hill Golf Course near Middletown. Six teams and six individual low scorers not on a qualifying team from sectionals will advance to districts on Thursday, Oct. 2, at Weatherwax Golf Course in Middletown.
Due to injuries and time conflicts, both the YSHS boys and girls cross country teams were minus half their runners and were unable to form an official entry in last week’s races. But the Bulldogs still made a good showing.
At the Ohio Caverns Invitational on Tuesday, Sept. 16, Carey Dixon and David Warren both went out for a strong first mile to capture the lead for a bit before falling back at a monster hill. Dixon eventually finished 18th in 18:25, and Warren finished 20th in 18:30. For the girls, Tina Peters also went out with the lead pack of four but fell back with a leg cramp to finish 18th out of 108 girls with a time of 22:59. Hillary Livingston turned in her best time of the year, 27:06, and finished in 69th. Saturday the Bulldog runners were at John Bryan State Park for the Cedarville Friendship Invitational, where Dixon followed the advice of his coach, Vince Peters, and ran a lifetime best, 17:29, to finish in sixth. “Coach told me to start out slow and just focus on improving the last mile,” Dixon said after his run. “I ran 10th until the last mile and then passed four people.” Sam Borchers, Matthew Maretta and Zach Reichert finished 116th, 119th and 120th, respectively. Romina Aguiro, the only YSHS girl finisher at Saturday’s meet, finished 108th out of 110. Tina Peters and Rebecca Guest both started the race, but neither finished after Peters twisted an ankle and Guest became fatigued.
Netters split two The YSHS girls volleyball team split their last two games, improving to 8–4 this year. Despite winning the first game against Ridgeville Christian last Thursday, the Lady Bulldogs lost at home in three sets, 11–15, 16–14, 15–7. But the girls came back on Monday, for a sound 15–6, 15–0 victory over Spring Valley. The Lady Bulldogs are working to improve their communication on the court as they prepare to take to the road for the next three games against Cedarville, Jefferson and Xenia Christian.
Winter swim clinic A winter swim clinic for children ages 5 to 10 will be held Mondays and Thursdays, 3:15–4:15 p.m., at the Antioch pool. Swimmers will work on stroke development, swimming skills and endurance training. Two sessions will be held: session I, from October through December; and session II, January through March. Session I will begin Oct. 2. There is a fee of $60 for one session or $100 for both, and $50 per session for each additional sibling. Fees will be used to cover the cost of renting the pool. Checks should be made payable to The Yellow Springs Aquatic Club. Registration is limited. To register, call Cheryl Meyer, 767-7574. Cheryl Meyer, Naomi Ewald-Orme and Rick Walkey and Ali Thomas will coach the clinics.
Grade school girls basketball clinics Girls basketball clinics will be held on Saturdays, Sept. 27, Oct. 4 and Oct. 25, 2–4 p.m., at the Bryan Community Center gym. The clinics are for girls in fourth, fifth and sixth grades, and will consist of instruction, drills and scrimmage (e.g., 3-on-3 games). Girls with experience and girls who are just learning the game are encouraged to attend. It is also an opportunity to learn more about playing in the Kenton Trace Conference, for fifth- and sixth-grade girls, which runs from mid-November through February. For more information, call Rich Miller at 767-2049.
FC Springs loses FC Springs suffered its first loss of the fall season, losing 2–4 to Huber Heights Warriors. FC Springs’ record is now 2–1. The Springs opened the game with one of the fastest goals in team history, when Todd Sheets scored just 16 seconds into the game. Brock GunderKline had the assist. But despite some crisp passing and fine teamwork, the Springs found themselves on the wrong side of a 1–3 score at the half. With 20 minutes left to play, Ryan Phillips narrowed the margin with a nice shot across the grain of the goal, assisted by Sheets. The Warriors answered 10 minutes later with another goal of their own on a header. FC Springs hosts Valley View ’89 Blue on Sunday, Sept. 27, 1 p.m., behind YSHS.
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