Read article : Bath falls in girls soccer opener
Bath’s Madi Ward and Liberty-Benton’s Alexis Rickenbacher fight for control of the ball during Friday night’s match at Bath.
Don Speck | The Lima News
Bath’s Chandler Clark tries to prevent Liberty-Benton’s Lexi Nagy from making a steal during Friday night’s match at Bath.
Don Speck | The Lima News
Bath’s Caylee Rieman and Liberty-Benton’s Alexis Rickenbacker fight for control of the ball during Friday night’s match at Bath.
Don Speck | The Lima News
BATH TOWNSHIP — Liberty-Benton had plenty of breakaway speed.
And the Eagles spent most of the night taking advantage of it.
Liberty-Benton junior Savanah Richards scored three goals to lead Liberty-Benton to a 5-0 girls soccer victory over Bath on soccer’s opening night Friday at Bath.
Liberty-Benton was in control the whole way, as it led 4-0 at halftime.
“We’ve added speed this year so that’s (getting breakaways) one of our big keys this season,” Richards said.
Liberty-Benton freshman forward Maya Rickle added two goals and had an assist.
“Maya is a very hard worker,” Liberty-Benton coach Mark Pagano said. “She has speed and a great touch.’’
The Eagles outshot Bath 23-7, including 12-2 at the half.
Liberty-Benton had way too much quickness and speed, especially in the midfield and up front.
“We were able to take advantage of our speed up top and were able to get the ball behind their defense,” Pagano said. “It was (a matter of) watching them go.’’
To get the L-B attack started, the Eagles’ defense formed a wall in the back to turn away most of the Bath attacks.
“Everything started in the back,” Pagano said. “We had a solid goalkeeper. … And the back line in front of her shut down some very good Bath players. And once you have the strength in the back, you can move forward.’’
Bath first-year coach Brooke Shultz hopes her defense can learn from the match.
“We knew they were fast, but I think we’re still kind of learning our new formations (on defense) and the shape back there,” Shultz said. “We were a little flatter than we should have been (in the back).
“We were definitely working hard, but not necessarily smart, so we got caught chasing a lot, and then we were tired. We kind of left them open in between our two lines.’’
Eagles goalkeeper Sophie Aschemeier needed only two saves for the shutout.
Bath goalkeeper Emily Rocca made 14 saves.
Richards scored first with 26:52 left in the first half. She took control at midfield, dribbled around and through a defender at the 18-yard box and fired a 12-yard shot into the lower-left corner of the net.
“Everything felt great, as a team,” Richards said. … “Coming in, we knew Bath had skill, so we knew we had to start fast.’’
At 25:42, Richards took a pass from the right wing into the box. She connected on a 16-yard shot into the upper-left corner of the net. That gave the Eagles a 2-0 lead.
L-B made it 3-0 when Rickle got loose from the Bath defense on a breakaway.
She scored from 12-yards out and it was 3-0 with 12:33 left in the first half.
Rickle scored her second breakaway goal, and the team’s third of the match, to make it 4-0 with 9:14 left before halftime.
Richards got her three-goal hat trick with 37 minutes left in the match. Rickle was on the left wing and fed Richards into the box. Richards fired a strike high into the back of the net and it was 5-0.
Liberty-Benton took seven corner kicks, while Bath had four.
Down 5-0, Bath got a few offensive surges of its own, including a shot by Jaidyn Hale, on a perfect cross from the right by Kelsey Wallace. But Hale’s toe-shot just went wide left.
“We talked about (at halftime) forgetting about the first half and coming out and having some pride and showing people how well we had done in the preseason,” Shultz said. … I’m proud of our girls that they didn’t give up or get negative.’’
The Lima News sports department can be reached at 567-242-0451.
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