November 1, 2007

sports

Bulldog sports roundup

Boys soccer throttles to semis
On Tuesday, Oct. 23, the Yellow Springs High School boys soccer team traveled to Franklin to challenge the West Liberty Salem Tigers on a neutral field in a Dayton Division III District semi-final match-up. The Bulldogs beat the Tigers 4–0 when the teams played in the regular season.

After a scoreless first-half, Ben Armstrong put Yellow Springs on top 1–0, one minute into the second half, when he stripped the ball off a West Liberty player at midfield and dribbled through the defense to slip the ball past the Tiger’s goalie from 12 yards out. With 10 minutes left on the clock, a nice through ball down the left wing and behind the Tiger’s fullback line sent James Butler on a fast-break toward goal. As he broke into the penalty box he was taken down from behind. On the penalty kick, Butler gave a little hip-swerve to the left, sending the goalie diving to that side, opening the goal for a well-placed shot to the opposite post. Less than a minute later, Andrew Ferguson sent a cross into the West Liberty goalmouth that Armstrong converted for the final goal of the match.

The 3–0 victory put the ’Dogs in the District championship match on Saturday, Oct. 27, against the Cincinnati Seven Hills Stingers at Winton Woods.

Kevin Sikes-Gilbert scored the opening goal just four minutes into the championship match with a shot from 12 yards out that dipped in just over the goalie’s reach. Seven Hills answered 15 minutes before the half with a shot through a crowd from 20 yards out that was deflected past goalie Alex Turner. Nine minutes into the second half, Seven Hills took a 2–1 lead off a poorly cleared ball that was drilled into the Bulldog goal from the top of the penalty box. With time running out, Butler collected the ball on the left wing about 40 yards out. He faked his defender left and right, then put the ball through his legs and lofted a 25-yard bomb that dropped over the keeper’s hands and under the crossbar to even the score at 2–2 and send the game into sudden-death overtime.

After two scoreless 15-minute sudden-death periods, the game went to a penalty-kick shootout. Alexis Onfroy tucked the first Yellow Springs shot neatly inside the left post. Seven Hills’ first shooter also scored. Sikes-Gilbert buried his shot in the left-side netting. The second shooter for Seven Hills apparently scored, but the referee had not blown his whistle to indicate that the player could take his shot, so the goal was disallowed. Turner lined up for the second attempt at the exact spot on the goal line where the first shot had gone in and successfully blocked it this time. On the Bulldog’s third attempt, Butler stroked his shot into the right side of the goal. Turner blocked the Stingers’ third try to give Yellow Springs a 3–1 lead in the best-of-five shootout.

With two shots remaining for both teams, if the Bulldogs made their fourth penalty kick the game would have been over. But Kyle Buchwalder’s well-placed shot to the left was blocked. The fourth shooter for Seven Hills then scored, making it 3–2, Yellow Springs. With the outcome of the game hanging in the balance, Armstrong blasted his shot into the nets, putting Yellow Springs into the Regional semi-finals against Cincinnati Mariemont last Tuesday, Oct. 30. The score of that game was not available at press time.

According to Coach Jim Hardman, the winner of the Yellow Springs/Mariemont game will play the winner of the Cincinnati Madeira/Springfield Catholic Central game for the Regional Championship on Saturday, Nov. 3, at Princeton High School at 3 p.m. If Yellow Springs wins the Regional Championship, YSHS would play in the State semi-finals on Tuesday, Nov. 6, at 7 p.m. at Centerville. The State Championship game is on Friday, Nov. 9, at 3 p.m. in Columbus at Crew Stadium.

Fall sports awards
Yellow Springs High School and McKinney School will host a fall sports awards ceremony on Monday, Nov. 5, at 7 p.m. at the high school. The school will honor two district championship teams and recognize well over 100 athletes.

Boys basketball scrimmages begin
The Yellow Springs High School boys varsity basketball team will begin a series of scrimmage games this Saturday, Nov. 3, at home against Springfield North and Dayton Belmont beginning at 10 a.m. in the high school gym.

Following are the dates and times of the remaining scrimmage games:

Tuesday, Nov. 6, YSHS vs. Dayton Meadowdale, Temple Christian, 5 p.m.
Saturday, Nov. 10, YSHS at Greeneview, 5 p.m.
Wednesday, Nov. 14, YSHS vs. Springfield Shawnee, 5 p.m.
Saturday, Nov. 17, YSHS vs. London, 10 a.m.
Monday, Nov. 19, YSHS at Dayton Preview at Belmont High School against Dayton Dunbar, Thurgood Marshall, Dayton Belmont, Cincinnati Lockland, West Carrollton, Xenia High School and Miamisburg, 5 p.m.

The Bulldogs open their regular season at home on Friday, Nov. 23, against Springfield Emmanuel.

Crickets basketball program to begin
The Crickets basketball program for girls and boys in first through third grade starts Friday, Nov. 2, starting at 5:45 p.m. The program is aimed at providing instruction on basketball fundamentals to prepare kids for recreational or traveling team programs. Hour-long sessions comprised of drills, games and scrimmaging will be held on Fridays, through Dec. 21, in the Bryan Community Center gym. Interested players can register at the beginning of the first session. There are no registration fees but donations are accepted. Contact Rich Miller (richmiller1@gmail.com, 767-2049) with any questions.

Last chance for sign up for KTC basketball league
Sign up for the KTC traveling basketball league for girls and boys in fourth, fifth and sixth grade will be held Saturday, Nov. 3, 10 a.m.–noon, at the Bryan Community Center gym. This basketball league begins in January and requires a participation fee. If you have any questions, call Will Scarfpin at 767-1321, or Chris Lloyd, 767-9318.

YSHS Seadogs to begin practice
Swim practices for students interested in swimming with the Yellow Springs High School swim team will begin Tuesday, Nov. 6, 6–7:30 p.m., at the Antioch College swimming pool. Practice will occur daily with meets beginning in early December and the ending in mid-February.

McKinney students may practice with the team but can not compete at the meets. There is no fee for participation. Parents of swimmers are needed to volunteer at the meets. For more information, call the coach Dave Wishart at 767-1415, or Aida Merhemic at 767-9280.