Lima CC 7 Spencerville 0

October 15. 2013
Lima Stadium
OHSAA Lima D 3 Boys Sectional
Lima Central Catholic 7   Spencerville  0

I was curious when I saw this first round match up in the upper bracket of the Lima sectional.  Lima CC was clearly the #1 or #2 seed but evidently elected to pass on the bye they had earned.  I suppose Coach Burkholder might have been looking to get his players, especially the seniors, an extra game. Maybe playing an over matched Spencerville team was payback for the T-Birds being asked to leave the Northwest Conference?  Beyond that I am unsure why he would risk injury to a starter by playing an unnecessary game against a clearly over matched opponent.  For sportsmanship sake, it would have been nice to see Spencerville and Lincolnview play in this opening match of the sectional with one or the other earning a victory to advance and meet Lima CC in the second round.



From the opening whistle the outcome of this match was never in question. A veteran and senior laden Lima CC team took immediate control and the overwhelming majority of the match was played on Spencerville's side of the pitch. With just two upperclassmen on their roster, senior Tricia Riley and junior Byron Gay, the young physically over matched Bearcats were forced to defend for 95+% of the match against the much bigger, faster and stronger T-Birds. 

Lima CC goals:

5:39  Jacob Williams
7:52  Zach Schroeder
20:24  Jacob Williams
35:33  Matt McNamara
46:59  Zach Schroeder
47:09  Jacob Williams
50:55  Sean Daley

Lima CC had 26 shots on goal to one shot on goal for the Bearcats.

Lima CC had an additional 16 shots miss wide or over the top of the goal while Spencerville had an additional 3 shots.

Spencerville goalkeepers Byron Gay had 10 saves and Cole Ward had 9 saves.  Lima CC goalkeeper Ben Stechschulte had 1 save.

There were signs of good things to come for the mostly sophomore and freshman Bearcats. David Wisher and Bailey Croft both competed very well and should develop into solid players and leaders in the years to come. Chandler Kahle, Thad Ringwald, and Byron Gay all held their own. I thought Cole Ward was good in the field and perhaps even better between the posts for the Bearcats.  Keep your heads up and keep working hard ladies and gentlemen for you have a brighter soccer future ahead of you!

Is it any wonder Lima CC in general suffers with public perception? This is an example of the type of behavior that fuels the drive to separate private from public schools in interscholastic competition. This is a match that should never have been played. Sure, the T-Bird players got a chance to pad their statistics and win total, but those stats have a hollow ring to them. Shame on you Lima CC for not accepting the bye you earned and allowing two fledgling programs to compete for a tournament win.

Lima CC advances to play Lincolnview at 5:30 pm on October 19, 2013 in Lima Stadium.

For whatever it is worth, Spencerville and Lincolnview tied 4 - 4 on October 10, 2013.  I believe both teams may be winless on the season.  Wouldn't that rematch as the opening game of the sectional have been worth playing?