Kalida’s Ady Miller (8) attempts to make a steal from Cincinnati Madeira’s Autumn Daley during Tuesday night’s Division III regional semifinal at Wapakoneta.
Don Speck | The Lima News
WAPAKONETA — After a thrilling shootout victory Saturday, Kalida found itself in another down-to-the-wire match in tournament play.
Madeira struck first but Kalida refused to fold and turned in a defensive effort to remember but fell short 2-1 in overtime.
The Amazons began firing shots immediately towards the direction of senior keeper Kassidy Hipsher without any success. Hipsher recorded six direct saves in the first 20 minutes.
A costly handball by a Kalida defender during the 20th minute gave Madeira a penalty kick opportunity and the Amazons capitalized.
Anna Cornejo fired to the right side of the net, Hipsher guessed correctly to make the stop, but the ball had enough power on it to trickle over the fingertips of Hipsher and into the net to give Madeira a 1-0 lead.
“We are really excited to advance, but Kalida played out of their minds tonight.” Said Madeira head coach Dan Brady. “They had a really good game plan against us that we couldn’t solve. We got chances but their keeper played great, and we were lucky to find a way.”
With its back against the wall, Kalida continued to show grit and weathered the storm.
Five minutes after the Amazons gained the advantage, Audra Hovest played a deflected ball into the net to level the score. Those two shots were the lone shots Kalida mustered through the night.
“We have four forwards that can rotate in and out and our girls play unselfish. We put a lot of pressure on them, but we just couldn’t capitalize,” Brady said. “I thought once we got that PK goal the game would open up, but they never backed down. It was a great tournament match.”
The tone never changed offensively for Madeira as it continued to dominate the offensive attack, rattling off a dozen shots, but Hipsher kept the Amazons out of the net.
Forty minutes proved to not be enough for the Wildcats and Amazons to provide a winner. The teams entered overtime tied.
“We knew going into the match that we were going to have our hands full. They play a very competitive schedule, as long as we keep it 0-0 or 1-0, we have a chance,” Kalida head coach David Kehres said. “They were expected to win, all of their games they’ve won big. We just had to keep it close, and a little misfortune got us tonight.”
Madeira’s continued attack finally found net midway into the overtime stanza to gain a spot in Saturday’s regional final.
Rachael Gaffney secured the game-winning goal.
“I told the girls they played with all their heart during the first 40 minutes,” Kehres said. “I felt bad to ask them for more, but we had to keep fighting. To put up the fight our girls did tonight and lose in overtime these girls have nothing to be ashamed of. Not many teams can say they came out of districts as champions, I am so proud of this group.”
Madeira (11-5-4) will battle West Liberty Salem in Beavercreek for a trip to the state tournament. Kalida finished the season at 10-6-4.
Scoring
M – Anna Cornejo
K – Audra Hovest
M – Rachael Gaffney
Nate Stidham wrote this story for The Lima News. Reach The Lima News sports department at 567-242-0451.
