Fifteen minutes into the second half of Wednesday’s Hoosier Hills Conference battle, Columbus East had peppered Jennings County goalkeeper Tori Lee with shot after shot, but had only two goals to show for it.
Then, in a matter of 24 seconds, Alana Dwenger and the Olympians gave themselves some breathing room in what would become a 7-0 victory.
Dwenger scored back-to-back goals in the 56th minute to stretch a 2-0 lead to 4-0. She finished a lead pass from Sydney Berkemeier, then stuck in a cross from Abby Miller 24 seconds later.
“The first half, we just kind of were trying to break down the packed defense,” East coach Ilya Schwartzman said. “The second half, we did and executed much better. We had more energy and sharper passes and sharper execution, and the result shows.”
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The Olympians (7-4, 4-0) would go on to score three more goals. Gabi Schuetz scored off a cross from Dwenger in the 62nd mnute, Kylie Hatcher landed a rocket from 30 yards in the 66th minute and Nadia Harris scored off a pass from Maggie Mathews in the 72nd minute.
East’s first goal came in the 12th minute when Dwenger slid a pass across the top of the box to Berkemeier, who finished for the goal.
“We were leaving a central person open, No. 7 (Berkemeier),” Jennings coach Tom Moore said. “It took us four times to figure it out, and the third time, she scored. Finally, we got it figured out how to shift over and not leave her wide open for shots.”
The Olympians made it 2-0 in the 25th minute when Dwenger took a lead pass from Harris and scored on a breakaway. But that was all for East until the eruption midway through the second half.
“We came out and played pretty good soccer,” Schwartzman said. “We executed well, except for the final balls. Jennings County was really packing the box. I thought the girls did the right things. The final crosses just weren’t in the right spot, so we had difficulty finishing those kinds of balls, and then when we did have chances, we were shooting straight at the goalie.”
The Olympians, who were playing for the fourth time in seven days, outshot the Panthers 46-1, putting 26 shots on goal. East’s Heidi Murphy and Anna Liimatta did not face a shot on goal in combining for the shutout.
Tori Lee kept Jennings (5-6, 1-5) in the game early and finished with 19 saves.
“We had a plan, and I thought the girls stuck to the plan,” Moore said. “A few things go different … goals make such a big difference. I also felt good because I looked up and there were five goals, but we were still playing hard, playing within the plan and trying to execute. They didn’t get their head down. I’m probably as happy with a 7-0 loss as I can be.”
