Brooke Altenburger of Delphos St. John’s dribbles against Cincinnati Madeira’s Autumn Daley during Tuesday’s Division V Regional Semifinal at Shawnee High School.
Richard Parrish | The Lima News
SHAWNEE TOWNSHIP – The Delphos St. John’s girls’ soccer program reached a milestone this season.
Heading into Tuesday’s Division V Regional Semifinal against No. 1-ranked Cincinnati Madeira, Delphos St. John’s was making its first regional appearance since 2010.
St. John’s coach Emma (Boggs) Pohlman was on that 2010 regional team that lost in the semifinals.
On Tuesday, Madeira (17-1-2) showed why it is ranked No. 1 in Division V as it recorded an 8-0 shutout against St. John’s at Shawnee.
The Blue Jays ended their season with a record of 11-10.
Madeira possessed the ball for most of Tuesday’s game and had 19 shots on the goal, while St. John’s could not muster a single shot in the shortened contest. When Madeira extended its lead to 8-0 less than 10 minutes into the second half, the game was halted due to the “Mercy Rule”.
“Coming into this game, it was a milestone for our program to start with,” Pohlman said. “We had the most (defensive) pressure we have had all season (against Madeira). We haven’t had those moments where we only get a second to make a decision. So, we’ll try to learn from it.
“Even knowing what they (Madeira) were going to do, it was tough to stop them. They’re that good. You can try to stop them, and they still find ways to find the back of the net. It wasn’t anything we didn’t expect and weren’t prepared for. Sometimes, you just give credit to the other team.”
Anna Cornejo led Madeira with five of her team’s eight goals. Olivia Naegeli had two goals, while teammate Karielys Vazquez-Martinez added a goal for Madeira.
Madeira hammered 12 shots on goal in the first 40 minutes of action and led 5-0 at the halftime break.
“Our main thing was to try to shut down No. 13 (Cornejo),” Pohlman said. “She’s a great athlete and a great soccer player. And just doing that double-team on her, you run into every other girl that is almost as good. … Overall, they have a very good team.”
St. John’s goalkeeper Evie Vonderwell was very busy on Tuesday. For the game, Vonderwell made 11 saves.
“We definitely wanted to focus on the accomplishments,” Pohlman said. “What we talked about in the (postgame) huddle is that we’ve gotten the farthest and had the best record since that 2010 team. So, I told the girls to focus on those accomplishments.
“These four (St. John’s) seniors are really a big reason why we are here today. And that’s what we told the underclassmen. … As much as these four seniors have turned this program around, it (the success) is not guaranteed for next year. So, they need to take what they’ve learned from these seniors and continue to work and build the program because it can slide down as quickly as you can build it.”
Madeira 8, Delphos St. John’s 0
Shots on goal: Madeira 19; St. John’s 0
Assists: Madeira – Vivian Momper 1, Olivia Naegeli 1; St. John’s – 0
Saves: Madeira – Makayla Davenport 0; St. John’s – Evie Vonderwell – 11
Corner kicks: Madeira 6; St. John’s 1
