Ottawa-Glandorf’s Delaney Duling prepares to kick while being defended by Shawnee’s Tayma Jmiai during Tuesday night’s match in Glandorf.
Jessica Trinko | The Lima News
GLANDORF — Ottawa-Glandorf emphasized the “defending” in “defending league champs” Tuesday night.
The Titans successfully shut down Shawnee’s offense in a 2-0 girls soccer victory at the Ottawa-Glandorf Athletic Complex. They earned their third Western Buckeye League championship in a row and their 29th-straight league victory.
O-G (14-1, 8-0 WBL) can complete an undefeated league season with a win next Tuesday at home against Defiance. O-G now shares the all-time WBL lead for titles with Celina at seven.
“You just have to stay humble throughout it,” said Savannah Recker, a junior defender. “But it’s definitely nice to get that first goal done and get back where we want to be.”
Tuesday’s matchup seemed like a possible duel of two of the WBL’s top forwards, Ottawa-Glandorf senior Makenna Siefker, who recently tallied her 100th career goal, and Shawnee’s sophomore Cece Schaaf. Both teams successfully neutralized the opponent’s top threat, with Recker describing the Titans’ “relentless effort.”
The Indians (8-1-4, 5-1-2 WBL), who were the last team to beat O-G in WBL play back in 2021, executed their defensive plan well.
“Our main focus was to try to deny Makenna Siefker, and I thought our center backs did a great job, with Addison Neth and Haileigh Stump containing her,” Shawnee coach Caroline O’Brien said. “But then that left some of their wingers open, and they kind of capitalized on that.”
Ottawa-Glandorf opened the game tentatively but played more fluidly after a surprising early goal. Siefker pushed the ball past her double-team upfield to junior forward Delaney Duling, who dribbled the ball up the left side of the field against a defender before hitting a goal from the front edge of the penalty box just 3 minutes, 2 seconds into the match for the early 1-0 lead.
“I felt Shawnee had control of the game and had possession of the game,” O-G coach Michelle Maag said. “We kind of got out on a counter, and Delaney ripped a bullet. It was just a beauty.”
Duling said the other forwards have learned to take advantage of give-and-goes and be creative offensively when teams commit to shutting down Siefker.
“It was so soon in the game,” Duling said. “It was a good starter to get us all pumped up and keep us going. It was a real motivator.”
After that shock, Shawnee’s defense held firm until the 27:47 mark of the second half, when O-G junior Liv Grothause ripped a goal into the top-middle of the net, and the Indians’ resolve fell away a bit.
“I thought we still possessed well, and the girls played physical,” O’Brien said. “I thought they did a great job of that in the first half. The second half, you know, was a little bit different of a story. I think after they put that second goal in, there was a little bit of heartbreak there.”
The Titans out-shot the Indians 27-12 in the game, including 15-5 in the second half. Ottawa-Glandorf keeper Karsyn Erford recorded her 32nd career shutout, tying a school record as a junior. The Titans only allowed four goals all season.
Shawnee, which only allowed seven goals all year going into Tuesday’s match, had 12 saves from goalkeeper Harper Bunke.
The Titans clearly enjoyed clinching their seventh WBL championship in front of an occasionally raucous crowd at home, celebrating with their fans after the match.
“First and foremost, our goal we have every season coming in is we want to win the league,” Maag said. “We know that it’s incredibly difficult to do that in the WBL. I give the girls a ton of credit. Hard work pays off. Belief in each other pays off, and this WBL championship is special.”
Reach David Trinko at 567-242-0467 or on Twitter @Lima_Trinko.
