Pattys Move Forward In OHSAA Playoffs With 2-1 Win Over DeSales (10/22)

In a rematch of a regular season meeting between the two schools, #22 St. Francis DeSales chose to face #6 Liberty in the second round of the OHSAA Playoffs, but was not able to repeat their earlier result. The Pattys advanced to the District Semifinal and the Stallions season ended with the 2-1 result.

In this match, the score was the only aspect of the match that was close, with Liberty having an advantage in shots (19-5), corners (6-1), and a decided edge in possession and 50/50’s won.

However, DeSales registered the first goal in the 6th minute against the run of play when a Stallion attacker got goalside of her defender on the left flank and finished the 1v1 opportunity past the goalkeeper to take the lead.

In the ensuing minutes, the Pattys responded by taking control of possession, breaking down the Stallion defense, and creating at least four clear chances that were not converted. However, on Liberty’s first corner kick of the night, Senior Captain Emma Waters drove a dangerous ball into the mixer and Junior Sarina Dirrig found the ball with her chest and directed it past DeSales outstanding Goalkeeper, Talia Kreuzer, to knot the match.  The assist for Center Defender Waters was her sixth of the season, tied for second on the squad with Senior Captain Hailey Pickelheimer, and Sophomore Natalie Amodeo,

The match was tied at half, but the Pattys had the momentum and came out with high energy in front of a spirited home crowd.  Liberty would take the lead in the 46th minute when Waters intercepted a DeSales pass, sent a 40 yard ball down the sideline over the defense to Senior Jordan Fike who beat her defender and sent one of her “patented” crosses to Dirrig. The Junior buried the shot in stride to deliver the game winner.  The assist was Fike’s team leading 12th of the year, and Dirrig’s two goals on the evening raised her season total to 16, tops for the Pattys on the season.  Click HERE for clips from the Fike Fan Cam.

Also of note was the return of Junior Abby Summers after being out for the last seven games with a knee injury. The speedy defender helped to shut down DeSales talented leading goal scorer, and contributed to a strong overall effort by the entire defensive unit. Sophomore Olivia Sensky, had one of her strongest outings of the season in the Defensive Midfield role, breaking up multiple Stallion possessions and helping to start the Liberty attack. Sophomore Abby Jones also excelled due to her effort on both sides of the ball.

The Pattys advance to a rematch with Worthington Kilbourne next Tuesday, October 27th at 7:00PM in the District Semifinal. Check out all of the Region’s playoff results HERE.

Spread the word and let’s create a huge home field advantage for the Pattys next Tuesday.

GO PATTYS!