The Miami Trace Panthers varsity soccer team was announced as a No. 1 seed in the upcoming Sectional tournament.
In their first match since the pairings were released on Sunday, the Panthers were in action at home against the Lynchburg-Clay Mustangs Tuesday.
It was a clear, cool evening for a soccer match and the Panthers came away with a 3-1 win.
Miami Trace held a 2-1 lead after the first 40 minutes of play.
The Panthers got on the board first with a goal by Miguel Iturriagagoitia Azagra at the 18:16 mark of the first half. The assist was from Caleb Perry.
Kyler Conn scored to give the Panthers a 2-0 lead with 15:20 to play until halftime. Azagra had the assist.
The Mustangs scored with 5:57 to play in the first half. As it turned out, this was the visitor’s only goal of the match.
The score remained 2-1 until Kody Burns completed the scoring for Miami Trace with 11:41 to play in the contest. The assist was by Azagra.
Miami Trace had 17 shots to 12 for Lynchburg-Clay.
Miami Trace’s goalkeeper, Justin Shoemaker, had 10 saves. The Mustangs’ goalie had five saves.
It’s another double-digit winning season for Miami Trace soccer.
“As far as I know, the most wins in a season is 12,” Miami Trace head coach Josh Thoroman said. “That was in 2016. In 2006, the team went 11-5-2. In 2018 we were 11-5-2.
“This is what I was hoping for,” Thoroman said. “Thursday is a huge game.”
If Miami Trace can defeat Jackson, the Panthers will tie the mark for most wins in a season finish tied for second in the FAC.
Three Panther players, Henry DeBruin, Simon DeBruin and Connor Bucher, will be competing in the FAC cross country championship Thursday at Chillicothe. From there, they will travel to Jackson to play in that match, Thoroman noted.
“Over the years, I think Lynchburg-Clay has had Miami Trace’s number,” Thoroman said. “They’re a smaller school that doesn’t have a football team. We have a lot of good athletes playing football. At Lynchburg-Clay, their main fall sport is soccer.
“They are a very strong program,” Thoroman said. “They come out of the Southern Hills League where they win the league virtually every single season. They have a nice tradition.”
The Panthers (11-4 overall, 6-3 in the FAC) will be back in action Thursday, wrapping up Frontier Athletic Conference play with a match at Jackson. The varsity girls play first at 5 p.m., followed by the varsity boys.
In the j-v game Tuesday, Miami Trace lost to Lynchburg-Clay, 2-0.
