It took a little while for the Patriots’ speedy forwards to figure out keeper Jessica Burchinal and the Olentangy Berlin back line, but once they did the goals came quickly as host Olentangy Liberty notched a 4-1 non-league win Thursday night in Powell.
Rachel Davidson broke the scoring seal in the 24th minute, chasing down a long through ball from Cailin Bohrer and slipping it past a hard-charging Burchinal.
Liberty made it 2-0 five minutes later, this time on a set piece, as Quinn Casey calmly deposited a free kick into the back of the net from about 40 yards out.
It remained a two-goal spread until the first minute of the second half, when Bohrer picked up another assist, this time on a goal by Jaimason Brooker to all but seal the deal.
The Bears got the first solid scoring chance of the game less than a minute in, when Ali de Gracia collected a corner kick and sent a low liner toward the Patriot net. Taylor Thomas was there for the save, though, and Liberty didn’t allow too many more chances the rest of the night.
Also: Delaware Hayes 1, Newark 1; Olentangy 2, Mansfield Madison 2
BOYS SOCCER
Landon Kuhn and Austin Corley scored and Gavin Kiener and Will Harrington had assists to lead Olentangy Berlin to a 2-0 win over host DeSales Thursday night in Columbus.
Connor Sexton had four saves en route to the shutout.
GIRLS TENNIS
Olentangy Berlin’s Ella Franz won a pair of matches at Thursday’s Division I District Girls Tennis Tournament at Reynoldsburg’s Summit Campus, advancing to Saturday’s semifinals and becoming the first Bear to qualify for the OHSAA State Tournament in school history.
The junior knocked off New Albany’s Madison Speiss in straight sets, 6-0, 6-0 to move on to the second round, where she beat Dublin Coffman’s Pritika Ghosh-Choudhuri 6-1, 6-0. Next up, she’ll play Dublin Coffman’s Dasha Chistyakova in Saturday’s semifinals.
Olentangy Liberty also had a pair of players pick up wins. Dani Schoenly sailed into the semifinals with wins over Coffman’s Cassady Shough (6-0, 6-0) and Bishop Watterson’s Sara Goodlive (6-0, 6-1). She’ll face Worthington Kilbourne’s Libby Alderman in the semis.
Kylie Wilson, meanwhile, beat Hilliard Bradley’s AhnThi Thai before seeing her solid sophomore season come to a close with a second-round loss to Alderman.
In doubles action, Olentangy’s Sydney Nickel and Archita Sriram won a pair of matches to set up a showdown with Olentangy Orange’s Caroline Sproule and Tyler Reed in Saturday’s semifinals. Both teams already punched tickets to the upcoming state showcase, but the winner will earn a top-two seed and a chance at nabbing a district title.
Nickel and Sriram won a pair of three-set thrillers to get to the semis. They beat Pickerington Central’s Alexis Heren and Ella Culver 4-6, 7-5, 6-3 in the first round before rallying past Dublin Jerome’s Ella Oleson and Lydia Foster 0-6, 6-4, 6-3.
Sproule and Reed handled Westerville Central’s Vivian Baker and Levi Burks 6-1, 6-1 before dropping Pickerington Central’s Semmie Moore and Khandice Thomas 6-3, 6-0 to keep their seasons alive.
GIRLS VOLLEYBALL
Olentangy Orange def. Olentangy Liberty 25-15, 25-15, 25-11; Thomas Worthington def. Olentangy Berlin 25-22, 27-25, 18-25, 27-25
