OTTAWA – Fourth year Ottawa Glandorf head coach Michelle Maag preaches stout defensive effort in her program and the Titans backed their mentor’s mantra up on Tuesday evening as they defeated Bath 2-0.
“Defensively I thought Savannah (Recker) had a great game, she was disruptive to Bath’s offensive flow and did a good job connecting passes out of the back” said Maag. “Karsyn (Erford) also played a great and came up with a few big saves to hold onto the shutout.”
Locked in a defensive struggle with the rival Wildcats, the Titans managed to connect on two of their many set piece opportunities for goals. Just under six minutes into the game, junior Delaney Duling’s high cross from the corner found it’s way to the waiting boot of teammate Emma Heringhaus who wasted no time blasting an offering around Bath keeper Carmen Kunkleman to give the hosts a 1-0 lead.
Moments before the half the host blue and gold found themselves with another opportunity from the corner, again from Duling who delivered another perfect left footed lob that was banged home in front of a crowded net by Liv Grothause to make it a 2-0 advantage for OG.
“Set pieces were the difference tonight and I thought we had two “find a way” type finishes tonight from Emma and Liv to grab the win” said Maag.
Each squad found their opportunities to score few and far between as the opposing defensive units provided little to no room to run towards their box. Bath’s Kunkleman turned away seven Titan shots while her counterpart, OG’s Karsyn Erford stopped three for her seventh clean sheet of the season.
“The game I thought was a bit choppy and frantic at times” said Maag. “I thought we could have done a better job of stringing some passes together and being a bit more creative offensively.”
Next up for the Wildcats (4-5-2, 1-2-1) are a pair of Western Buckeye League contests, first at Van Wert on Thursday, and next against Celina on Monday.
Ottawa Glandorf (9-1, 5-0) has now won nine consecutive outings this season and 26 straight in Western Buckeye League play. The Titans return to action on Saturday at 11am for a varsity only non-league contest at Putnam County rival Kalida.
“Tonight was another classic WBL battle tonight with a great Bath squad” finished Maag. “Often times at this point in the season it’s important to find ways to grind out wins, and I’m proud of the girls for doing just that.”
Scoring:
33:58 – Emma Heringhaus (OG)
:20 – Liv Grothause (OG)
Assists:
2 – Delaney Duling (OG)
Saves:
3 – Karsyn Erford (OG)
7 – Carmen Kunkleman (B)