GLANDORF – Ottawa Glandorf started with a bang on Tuesday night and finished with a 2-0 victory to claim their third straight Western Buckeye League title.
The Titans wasted no time jumping ahead on the scoreboard in the first half with just three minutes gone as a pass from senior Makenna Siefker from near midfield found the foot of junior teammate Delaney Duling ahead of the Shawnee defense. Duling launched a left footed offering on the run just over the outstretched fingers of Indians keeper Harper Bunke to push the Titans ahead 1-0.
“On one of the first chances to attack in the game Delaney did a really good job of attacking the space and finishing with a great shot” said Titan head coach Michelle Maag. “The early goal was huge for us in that moment.”
Ottawa Glandorf’s lone goal of the second half ran the advantage to 2-0 with 27:47 remaining. Working deep in Shawnee territory the Titans turned to sophomore Brea Recker from the left of Bunke and watched as she lofted a pass toward the net that was finished by junior Liv Grothause in front of the net who notched her second marker in as many outings for O-G.
“As the game progressed we got better at breaking up their possession in big moments” said Maag. “While we still gave up more chances than I would like to in a game, we limited what we felt were their higher quality chances.”
Stuck inside a wind storm at times during the game, the Indians (8-1-4, 5-1-2) big shooters Cece Schaaf and Kamryn Morris gave their teams the aforementioned opportunities but came away empty against Titan keeper Karsyn Erford. In securing her 12th shutout of the season, Erford sees her career tally jump to 32, one behind the schools all-time leader for a career Jenni Rosselit.
“I am so proud of the girls and the effort they gave tonight against a really good Shawnee squad” stated Maag. “Winning the WBL is so tough because night in and night out you are faced with great competition, to win the league title shows how hard these girls work and how much belief they have in themselves and our team.”
Shawnee, the last team to beat the Titans before their current 29-game Western Buckeye League winning streak began back in 2021 will travel to take on Eastwood on Saturday for their next outing.
Two home games remain for second ranked Ottawa Glandorf (14-1, 8-0) before the regular season draws to a close. Monday evening the Titans will battle Perrysburg on the grass in Glandorf in a 6pm varsity only meeting before a Tuesday night league contest against Defiance on the Titan Stadium turf closes the door on the regular season.
“My favorite part about this team is they don’t seem satisfied with what they’ve achieved so far” explained Maag. “We get better with each day we get to play and I’m so excited to keep that rolling forward as we go along. We still have our sights set on finishing unbeaten in the league but we know we’re in for a battle on Monday night with a fantastic Perrysburg team coming to town.”
Scoring:
36:58 – Delaney Duling (OG)
27:47 – Liv Grothause (OG)
Assists:
1 – Makenna Siefker (OG)
1 – Brea Recker (OG)
Saves:
5 – Karsyn Erford (OG)
7 – Harper Bunke (S)