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Dynamic duo lifts Oak Glen to OVAC championship game

SCORING — Oak Glen’s Reece Enochs scores past Harrison Central’s Kerstin Jefferies in an OVAC Class 4A semifinal on Tuesday. (Photo by Joe Catullo)

NEW MANCHESTER — A hat trick by Reece Enochs, two goals from Maggie Kovalcik and a six-goal advantage would make a great game for the Oak Glen girls soccer team.

On Tuesday, the top-seeded Golden Bears accomplished that in the first seven minutes. They rode that momentum to a 12-1 victory over fourth-seeded Harrison Central in an Ohio Valley Athletic Conference Class 4A semifinal.

Oak Glen’s dynamic duo tallied seven goals combined (Kovalcik finished with four) and four assists (two apiece).

“We work really well together, read each other and look for each other constantly,” Kovalcik said. “We’re not trying to be selfish. We always want to give each other the ball.”

Oak Glen (11-1) head coach Ryan Wells agrees with his senior’s assessment.

“Reece had 35 goals last year and led us in assists, and Maggie had 36 goals and was second in assists. Those two really do feed well off of one another,” he said. “We do a good job of building from the back and moving to midfield and up. It’s a combination of Maggie working hard and Reece kind of following right behind her.

“It’s really 11 girls working together and being unselfish. They don’t care where the goals or the assists come from. They’re not a stat-driven team, so it’s a coach’s dream.”

Kovalcik scored the game’s first goal just 41 seconds in. Natalie Szpyrka followed suit a little more than a minute later. Enochs scored the next two goals, the first assisted by Kovalcik, to give Oak Glen a 4-0 advantage. Kovalcik’s second goal and Enochs’ third essentially put the game away with 33 minutes left in the first half.

“Oak Glen is a quality team and runs like a well-oiled machine,” Harrison Central coach Mindy Madzia said. “He’s a good coach, and they have a lot of girls. Our team is very small. We have a roster of 15, 12 tonight and only 11 that could play in the second half. All I can say is they have the biggest hearts, and they do what they are asked.”

When the Golden Bears jumped out to that 6-0 advantage, 11 new girls entered. Part of the reason was to avoid running up the score that early.

“We have 23 girls on the team,” Wells said. “I believe this is the seventh or eighth time this year where we were able to play all 23 girls in each half of those games. The good thing about us is we get pushed in practice every day because our 11 starters see tough competition every day in practice.”

The Huskies (5-6) got on the board shortly after the mass sub when Sydney Starr found the back of the net.

“Expectations were high,” Wells said on what he expected from Harrison Central. “I watched film from last year on them over the last couple of days. We know their keeper is one of the best we’ve seen all year. It was 1-1 at halftime last year. They’re an athletic group and work hard. There was no quit in the girls whatsoever.”

The Oak Glen starters returned with roughly eight minutes left in the first half. Brooklyn Watts ended the first half and began the second with scores. Two more goals by Kovalcik, one by Juliana Virden and the final from Jillian Williams with eight seconds remaining closed the scoring.

Kaylee Travis made three saves in goal for Oak Glen. Abigail Myers and Watts had one assist each.

“The girls have worked hard. They started all the way back in May in the wrestling room doing core workouts and in the weight room. It’s just a bunch of hard work paying off,” Wells said. “We play a really good possession style of soccer, and they’re doing a good job of creating angles and using them. We’re peaking at the right moment.”

Harrison Central goalkeepr Britton Positano made 25 saves.

“We always tell them that we take from what we just experienced and build off of our mistakes,” Madzia said. “We just have to prepare for the next one.”

The Golden Bears must wait until Thursday to find out who they defend their OVAC title against at 10 a.m. Saturday at St. Clairsville. Third-seeded Beaver Local takes on the second-seeded Red Devils.

“We split with St. Clairsville last year. They’re always a tough team to face,” Wells said. “Beaver Local has a grueling schedule that they played through this year, so we know they’re very battle-tested. Their record doesn’t speak for how good those girls are. Those two will battle it out.”

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