SPENCERVILLE – Boys soccer action kicked off Tuesday night at Memorial Field with a bang and a few flashes of lightning as the Bearcats rushed by visiting Fort Jennings 7-0.
Late in the second half with about ten minutes remaining the game was stopped due to the officials spotting multiple bursts of lightning in the area before and during the required 30 minute break.
Before the lightning came the thunder provided by the Bearcats offense who first dented the scoreboard on a shot by junior Emerson Layman with 35:14 remaining on the first half clock from 25 yards out to tie his goal output from a year ago and give his team a 1-0 lead.
Layman’s classmate and single season scoring recordholder Will Gallaspie provided the home squad their second marker at 29:29 as he picked up a ball near midfield and raced past Fort Jennings defenders for his first of the season and a 2-0 advantage.
Working through a tough and physical Musketeer defense, Gallaspie notched his second of the contest just two minutes later as he beat keeper Jon Grote for a 3-0 Spencerville lead at 27:19.
Last seasons second leading Bearcat striker Joel Van Gorder, the only senior on this seasons roster joined in the scoring at 20:37 by snagging a Gallaspie pass and lasering a shot top left of the goal for a 4-0 advantage.
After nearly ten minutes of neither team finding themselves in the scoring column the hosts struck again behind Gallaspie with 10:55 as he secured his first hat trick of the season and a 5-0 Bearcat edge on the scoreboard.
The final score of the first half for Spencerville was scored by Emerson Layman who caught the Musketeer defense out of position and slid in a shot past Grote to make it a 6-0 contest with 5:26 remaining before the half.
Fort Jennings was assessed a pair of yellow cards in the first half but it was the one with 18:19 left in the second half that would prove to be their most costly as Van Gorder was dragged down from behind inside the box.
Set for his first penalty kick of the season Van Gorder sent a line drive left and low past a diving Fort Jennings keeper for the final goal in a 7-0 game.
Although the game was notable for the extreme 90 degree temperature at kickoff it was the lightning that would ultimately end the contest as it was called with 9:44 remaining and rendered a 7-0 final.
Spencerville head coach Josh Van Gorder after the game said of his troops “I’m so proud of our guys, they picked each other up from start to finish. Emerson, Will, and Josh took advantage of their scoring opportunities. Ft. Jennings continues to improve and we did not take them for granted but we are happy to have areas to focus on before our big NWC matchup with Bluffton on Monday. This win feels great but it’s back to work tomorrow!”
Spencerville (1-0) will next play host to Northwest Conference foe Bluffton on Monday, August 30th at 7:00 P.M. while Fort Jennings (0-1) will battle neighbor Ottoville (2-0) on Saturday at 1:00 P.M. in a home non-league contest for their next action.
Goals:
Emerson Layman (SV) 35:14
Will Gallaspie (SV) 29:29
Will Gallaspie (SV) 27:19
Joel Van Gorder (SV) 20:37
Will Gallaspie (SV) 10:55
Emerson Layman (SV) 5:26
Joel Van Gorder (SV) 18:19 2nd half