Halftime switch leads to blowout win

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XENIA — As Xenia girls soccer Coach Jim Lamb evaluated the first half of Xenia’s game against visiting Greenville Saturday at Doug Adams Stadium, he made a decision that changed the course of the game.

Lamb came to the conclusion that his back line of defenders was playing well enough that he could move a defensive midfielder into the attacking zone to help create a more explosive offense.

“We were doing a very good job of keeping the ball out of our defensive third,” Lamb said. “We talked at the half about changing passing angles and dropping the ball back and then switching the field. I think that is where a lot of our opportunities came from. Having the extra attacker not only gave us more opportunities to score, but gave us much better opportunities as well.”

The move paid off, as the Bucs scored six second-half goals on the way to a 7-0 victory. Unofficially, Xenia fired 24 shots on the Green Wave’s goal, while not allowing a shot at its own. Senior goalkeeper Grace Turner and sophomore Claire Roundtree combined for the shutout.

Junior Midfielder Alayna Vela netted four of those second half goals. Vela’s raised her season total to nine moving her into a share of the Miami Valley League lead.

Lamb noticed her standout play.

“She is always very good with the ball at her feet,” he said. “She can dribble and has good vision to find passes that she can make. And then today, she was really good at finishing the chances that she was able to create off the dribble. And one of the goals today came off of winning the ball with a tackle and instantly getting the shot off. She played really well today. “

Sophomore Alia Donofrio opened the scoring with 12 minutes to play in the first half. It was Donofrio’s second goal this season. Junior Mya Dyamond added her fifth of the year and freshman Kelcie Long picked up her first varsity goal in the second half.

The Bucs raised their season mark to 3-3, good for third place in the MVL, with two games coming up on this week’s schedule: a game last night at Stebbins which was too late for press, and a trip to Troy for a league crossover game with the Trojans Thursday.

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By Matt Goeller

For Greene County News

Matt Goeller is a free lance writer for Greene County News.

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