OTTAWA – Saturday afternoon Ottawa Glandorf scored with just six seconds remaining to stun visiting Ontario 1-0 in a non-conference clash on the turf at Titan Stadium.
Eminem once posed the question “if you had one shot or one opportunity would you capture it or let it slip?” O-G junior Liv Grothause answered the Detroit rapper’s query loudly with limited time remaining when she finished a pass from teammate Carlie Brinkman and raced an offering past Ontario keeper Leila Stevens for her sixth goal of the year.
Today's game winning goal by @OGLadyTitanSoc Liv Grothause as heard on @WZOQRadio #GoOG pic.twitter.com/IUUIbjhz5R
— Michael Hirn (@MichaelHirnPBP) September 28, 2024
“Liv hit the game winner on a great hustle play with a great finish” said Titan head coach Michelle Maag. “That win is as close as you can get in soccer with a buzzer beater. I’m so proud of the girls for fighting to the final seconds. Every minute matters when it comes to our team and we shows that tonight against a very good Ontario team.”
Locked in a defensive battle for the first 89:54, each team found opportunities few and far between in the battle between keepers Stevens and Karsyn Erford. Stevens ended the afternoon by stopping seven Titan shots while Erford sent away a season high nine to earn her 31st career clean sheet.
“Any time a score stays 0-0 deep into the second half the game has a tendency to open up with chances in transition. We saw that today, Ontario had some very good chances in the second half and Karsyn did a great job of controlling her box on the corners, and making big saves on long distance shots.”
Moved from the school’s grass soccer pitch to the football stadium field turf due to a heavy rain, the two teams sometimes struggled to find their footing and saw their normally fruitful runs cut off by opponent defenders.
Ontario (6-5-1) sharpshooters Hattie Yugovich and Addi Pittman entered Saturday with a combined 31 goals and 22 assists but were unable to unleash the type of shots they’ve come to create for the Warriors during the early part of the season.
“Hats off to Ontario, they played a great all-around game and have some incredible individual and team talent” opined Maag. “Tonight was a full 80-minute game that ebbed and flowed both ways and felt like a tournament atmosphere. I think this game will be very valuable for us moving forward as we have a high WBL matchup with Shawnee on Tuesday.”
Outscoring opponents 66-4 this season, the Titans hang their hat on their defense and the ability to create based off getting stops, a fact Maag was quick to point out. “One of the most important keys to the game today for us was shutting down their main scorers. With the way the matchups landed today, Brea (Recker) drew the mark of their best players and did a fantastic job of shutting down their shooting and being very disruptive for us defensively.”
Next up for the Titans (13-1) is the aforementioned Tuesday night league tilt. Ottawa Glandorf will be seeking their 29th straight conference victory as they match up with the second place and unblemished Indians, the last team in the league to defeat the Titans, back in 2022.
Scoring:
:06 – Liv Grothause (OG)
Assists:
1 – Carlie Brinkman (OG)
Saves:
9 – Karsyn Erford (OG)
7 – Leila Stevens (O)
JV Score: 1-1 (1 half)