Cece Schaaf of Shawnee drives past Teagan Lawrence of Wapakoneta on Tuesday night.
Chris Howell | The Lima News
SHAWNEE TOWNSHIP — Shawnee’s goal on Tuesday night was to put together a full 80 minutes against Wapakoneta.
It turned out to me more like a strong 79:55, because that’s how long they had a shutout intact against the Redksins.
Outside of a last-second goal off a free kick, the Indians played one of their most complete games of the season against Wapak and came away with a 2-1 win to stay in the hunt in the WBL standings.
“We’re always looking to be a tough competitor in the league and that was tough Wapak team tonight,” Shawnee coach Caroline O’Brien said. “I think our kids did a good job from back to front, putting everything together so we could come out on top.
“We kept good pressure in the attacking third and the defense collectively did well. Their assignment was to shut down two players specifically and I thought they did a good job of making a point of that right away.”
Wapakoneta’s Paige Olberding and Grace Burunfield were the top priority of Shawnee’s defense. Neither player scored and Wapak managed to get just three shots off. Mission accomplished.
Throughout the game, Shawnee turned defensive pressure into offensive opportunities. The Indians fired six shots on goal and took seven corner kicks.
Cece Schaaf found the back of the net on two separate occasions. With 8:54 left in the first half, Schaaf wrestled the ball away from Wapak’s Teagan Lawrence in the box and launched it past keeper Ellie Prenger.
At the 21:35 mark of the second half, Kamryn Morris found Schaaf with a pinpoint pass inside the box and she finished the job, making it a two-score game.
“She’s the kind of player that puts her head to the grindstone and really wants to work hard,” O’Brien said of Schaaf. “We always talk about finishing those loose balls inside the box and I thought she did a great job of doing that. She got the ball when it was sent in the box, mixed things up and put the pressure on their back line.”
Lawrence netted Wapakoneta’s goal off a free kick with 0:05 left in the second half.
Prenger made four saves for the Redskins and Harper Bunke blocked two balls for Shawnee
Shawnee 2, Wapakoneta 1
WP 0 1 – 1
SH 1 1 – 2
Scoring Summary
SH — Cece Schaaf — 8:54, 1st
SH — Cece Schaaf (Kamryn Morris assist) — 21:35, 2nd
WP — Teagan Lawrence — 0:05, 2nd
Shots on goal
SH 6, WP 3
Saves
SH 2, WP 4
Free kicks
SH 8, WP 9
Corner kicks
SH 7, WP 2
Goal kicks
SH 7, WP 14
Reach Chris Howell at 567-242-0468 or on Twitter/X at @Lima_Howell
