On top of earning a Hoosier Hills Conference victory, Tuesday’s win against Jennings County meant a little more to the Seymour girls’ soccer coaching staff.
The 2-0 victory marked the Owls’ 10th win of the season under head coach Greg Musser and his staff, the first time the program has hit double-digit wins in his six years at the helm.
Seymour High School (10-3-1, 3-2 HHC) scored two second half goals to defeat the Panthers at their home soccer complex.
In the first half, the Owls dominated the Panthers’ back third of the field.
Despite peppering the Panthers on offense, the Owls couldn’t find the back of the net.
With 27:56 on the clock, Maddie Roark crossed the ball into the center of the box to the foot of Bailey Lewis. However, the shot sailed over.
Seymour High School had another strong chance at the mark, as Roark fired a 30-yard free kick from the right side of the box at the goal, but it was punched away by Panthers keeper Kenna Maschino.
An Owls trailer was able to hit the ball, but the shot went left of the far post.
The Panthers didn’t get a shot attempt off in the first half, and would be outshot 20-2 in the game.
Seymour High School came out of the intermission firing.
“I thought it was a tale of two halves for us, really,” Owls coach Greg Musser said. “I thought we controlled the first half but lacked inspiration. They needed that extra will and want to finish some of those opportunities. We dominated, but we were missing something. We challenged them to be more threatening.”
With 36:20 on the clock, Roark took a corner kick and Bailey Lykins hit a volley from 5-yards that just went wide. Roark finally got one to go with 26:49 left in the game. Kristina Griffin won possession from about 30 yards for Seymour High School, launched the ball to the far side of the six-yards box, and Roark slotted it to put the Owls up 1-0. ”It was great vision from Kristina,” Musser said. “We’ve been harping on our midfield to make some space before taking it. She took a couple touches, drew a defender, and found Maddie on an aggressive run.” The Owls added another goal with remaining when Addi Chandler took a corner kick and found Alyssa Perry in the center of the box. Perry took the ball out of the air with her foot to deflect the ball in. ”Our second goal was just pretty,” Musser said. “It was from freshman to freshman. Alyssa was able to put a foot on it and bury it home. It was good to see.” The Owls held on to possession to secure the win the rest of the way. In goal, Aidan Hiester had two saves for the Owls. Maschino finished with 18 saves for the Panthers. Musser said he was glad to see the team respond after being held scoreless in the first half. ”We told them that the longer we let them hang around, the more dangerous they will be,” Musser said. “Last year we controlled and couldn’t find the back of the net, and they got a bad goal to win 1-0. We told the girls we can’t let them hang around.” The Owls have four games left in the regular season, as they eye the school record of 16 victories for an entire season. Saturday, Seymour travels to Franklin.