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STEUBENVILLE – Seven proved to be a lucky number for the Big Red girls’ soccer team against undefeated St. Clairsville.
Sophomore Jaylin Crites scored with 9:59 remaining in the game to lift Big Red to a 4-3 victory against the Red Devils knocking them from the ranks of the undefeated Saturday afternoon on Reno Saccoccia Field inside historic Harding Stadium.
“Jaylin has been phenomenal up front,” Big Red (2-1-1) head coach Annie Cutri said. “She has great playmakers behind her who are feeding her the ball. We are working on different combinations. She is working hard. All of the girls are working extremely hard. They want to excel. They want to play well. They are playing for each other, they are playing for the program and they are playing for Big Red.”
Crites, who entered the game coming off back-to-back hat tricks against Wheeling Central and Catholic Central – has scored seven goals so far this season.
“Last year as a freshman, it can be intimidating playing against girls who are three years older,” Cutri said. “She has found her fire this season, and we are riding that wave. She is selfless. We are going to continue to rely on her to produce. She’s selfless. We pulled Jaylin out wide today. We wanted to switch things up, and she played well. She worked hard. We want all of the girls to shoot, but especially Jaylin.”
Fellow sophomore Brynn Bowers buried two shots into the back of the net for the Red-and-Black, while senior standout Giana Thomas tallied one. Bowers scored her first goal on a penalty kick before netting her second on a free kick from 25 yards out.
“Brynn Bowers is another sophomore,” Cutri said. “She scored on the penalty kick and on that free kick. They are all very talented. We had everything today. The girls played well. A couple of the goals we gave up were unfortunate, but we did not stop.”
Big Red rallied from one-goal deficits at 1-0 and 2-1 before rallying to take a 3-2 lead. The girls from Belmont County tallied the equalizer with 13:03 left to play in the game, however, Big Red did not get down and the girls from Jefferson County rose to the occasion and delivered the game-winning goal with just under 10 minutes showing on the scoreboard clock.
“It was like the game against Catholic Central,” Cutri said. “Our girls did not get down. Before, they may have lost their confidence, and they would not have responded. Now when they get down, it fires them up. They respond. They played a full 80 minutes today. They left everything out on the field. They did not want to lose this game. They worked hard.”
Big Red was once again in goal for Big Red.
“We have different girls in different roles,” Cutri said. “We want them to be ready in different situations. We want them to carry out our gameplan. I am just so proud of all of them. They all played with grit. We had grit today. They showed grit and resiliency. They really wanted to win this game today. When we got done, we did not let it drag us down. We responded. We played solid all-around.”
St. Clairsville (5-1) opened the season with wins against Catholic Central, 4-2, and Weir, 4-0. The team then went on to defeat Maysville, 7-0, Bishop Rosecrans, 6-2 and Beaver Local, 2-1.
“This is a very-big win for us,” Cutri said. “St. Clairsville just beat Beaver, and Beaver is a strong team. St. Clairsville was undefeated. We knew they were a strong team. Ashlynn (Lednick) came back from an injury. No. 11 (Emma Gasber) and No. 5 (Elizabeth Morgan) are solid for them. St. Clairsville plays physical. This was a big win for us. We were ready. We battled.”
St. Clairsville is scheduled to play Linsly at 6 p.m. Tuesday on the road.
Big Red is slated to play Weir Tuesday night on the road. The game will be the nightcap of a boys’ and girls’ doubleheader inside Jimmy Carey Stadium. The Weir boys will play John Marshall at 6 p.m. with the girls’ game between Big Red and the Red Riders to follow.
“We have started off with a strong schedule,” Cutri said. “This schedule will prepare us for the playoffs. We play Weir Tuesday, and then we play University – another OVAC school – Saturday. This is all practice and preparation. We are working hard to get ready for the state tournament.”