Ottawa-Glandorf’s Myka Aldrich (right) and Eastwood’s Saylor King go for a header during Saturday’s Division III regional final at Tiffin’s Frost-Kalnow Stadium.
Nate Reynolds | The Lima News
TIFFIN — Ottawa Glandorf secured its third consecutive state appearance Saturday afternoon, defeating Eastwood 3-0 at Tiffin’s Frost-Kalnow Stadium.
Sophomore Delaney Duling got the Titans on the scoreboard first with 38:04 remaining in the first half as she redirected a deflected shot by senior teammate Myka Aldrich past Eastwood keeper Jordan Jensen to give O-G a 1-0 advantage.
“We got off to a fast start tonight with a goal in the first few minutes that gave us some confidence for the rest of the first half and did a good job of staying on the attack early in the game,” Ottawa-Glandorf coach Michelle Maag said.
Unable to add on to their lead with the ability of Jordan to stop their offerings during the next 30 minutes of play, the Titans worked up the field attempting to find an opening in the Eagles’ defense.
Nearing the end of the first half of play, Ottawa-Glandorf ran its advantage to 2-0 with 9:02 to go thanks to Aldrich who battered a shot into the net for her 23rd of the season.
“The game was a fantastic battle with a really talented Eastwood squad that we have so much respect for,” Maag said.
Runs by each team in the second half produced no goals but just a handful of chances as the score remained 2-0 deep into the final 40 minutes of play.
“We talked as a team going into today that defense was the key to winning this game. I thought that ended up being true as all 11 players on the field bought into playing great defense,” Maag said. “In the second half I thought Eastwood had some good possessions but we held strong once they entered our defensive third.”
Ottawa-Glandorf’s final marker of the afternoon came with 6:05 to go in the contest when junior Bri Douglass raced up the Frost-Kalnow Stadium turf and lofted a cross to the foot of leading scorer Makenna Sieker who headed home her 33rd goal of the season to give O-G a 3-0 advantage.
“It was a total team effort today for 80 minutes and now we have an opportunity to be back in the state final four. We’ll recover for the next couple of days and be ready to go for a big Tuesday night matchup,” Maag said.
Eastwood’s season concludes at 16-4-1. The Titans advance to the state semifinals with a record of 21-1 and a date with Akron Manchester, a 3-2 winner against,Warren Champion, at 7 p.m. Tuesday at a yet to announced location.
Match summary
Scoring
38:04 – Delaney Duling (O-G)
9:02 – Myka Aldrich (O-G)
6:05 – Makenna Siefker (O-G)
Assists
2 – Bri Douglass
1 – Myka Aldrich
Shotss
20 – O-G
3 – Eastwood
Saves
17 – Jordan Jensen (E)
3 – Karsyn Erford (O-G)
Mike Hirn wrote this story for LimaScores.com. Reach The Lima News sports department at 567-242-0451.
