COLUMBUS
The Seymour girls soccer team had the right formula for stopping Columbus North an its high-scoring forward, Addy Lang, on Thursday night.
For 30 minutes.
After that, Lang went wild. She scored two goals in the final 10 minutes of the first half and two more in the first seven minutes of the second half, and the Bull Dogs went on to post a 6-0 victory in the semifinals of the North Sectional.
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Click here to purchase photos from this gallery“We’ve been pretty solid defensively all year,” Seymour coach Greg Musser said. “They have a very solid player in the center there in Addy Lang, and we kept her at bay for 30 minutes. We got caught in transition, where she got a head of speed against us, and it’s hard to stop her.”
The Bull Dogs (10-2-4) move into Saturday’s sectional final, where they will meet the winner of Thursday’s late game between Columbus East and Madison.
Lang’s first goal came in the 31st minute when she put in a rebound after a Rachel Collett save on a shot by North’s Tanner Johnson. Then in the 38th minute, Lang put one off the right post, but the ball bounced right back to her and she put it away.
After halftime, Lang struck again in the 42nd minute when she headed in a corner kick from Kristen Orben. Lang’s final goal came in the 47th minute when she finished another corner from Orben for a 4-0 lead.
“(Lang is) just a very good player,” Musser said. “It’s hard to keep her at bay for an entire game. You have to stay positionally sound against her. Her last two goals were on corner kicks, and we lost her in the fray there, which you can’t do with a player like that.”
The score stayed 4-0 until the 73rd minute when Johnson headed in a corner kick from Natalie Teo.
The Owls’ best scoring opportunity came in the 76th minute, with Kayla Griffin taking a free kick from just outside the box on the right side. But backup Bull Dogs keeper Kaylyn Bates smothered the ball to preserve the shutout.
North then added its sixth goal when Corrine Orben took a pass from Johnson and stuck it in from 25 yards.
“All in all, we played hard,” Musser said. “It’s just a really good team that we ran into today.”
The Bull Dogs outshot Seymour 31-4, putting 19 shots on goal to three for the Owls. Collett played the first 66 minutes in goal and recorded 13 saves, and Aidan Hester played the final 14 minutes in goal.
The Owls finish the season 8-8-2.
“We had our struggles with some injuries at the beginning of the year, but we battled every game,” Musser said. “Eight wins is nothing to be ashamed of. We thought we could have had a few more in there, but we’ll be happy with an eight-win season.”