Thursday roundup: Golden Eagles tame Tigers for second win
By Chris Miles
Sports Editor
It was a lighter than usual night for high school sports in Madison County, but the teams in action made the most of the evening.
Girls soccer
Madison-Plains 9, Columbus East 0
The Madison-Plains girls soccer team has suffered through a lot of tough nights this season, but Thursday wasn’t one of them.
The Golden Eagles (2-8-1) throughly enjoyed their easy non-league victory over the visiting Tigers.
For a night, all the ills that have plagued the team this season were forgotten as MPHS was able to do just about anything it wanted.
The ball was played roughly 95 percent of the time in the Tigers defensive end, which allowed the Eagles a rare chance to be on the constant attack.
While very little can be taken out of a lopsided affair like this one was, there were some positives out there.
“It feels really good,” Eagles sophomore captain Bailey Phillips said. “What feels the best is playing a team and just winning together, that’s definitely the best part.
“I think it makes you think about things. (The Tigers) were really good sports we really appreciated that. We got to work together as a team and we got a chance to build our confidence.”
The second win of the season marked a milestone for the Eagles. It’s a new record for total number of wins in a season.
The team will go for No. 3 Tuesday at 5 p.m. when it plays at Clinton-Massie.
London 10, McClain 0
The London girls soccer team went on the road Thursday to McClain and returned with a rewarding 10-0 victory.
The Lady Raiders (6-6, 6-3) will next be in action Tuesday at 6:45 p.m. when they will hit the road again, this time to play at Hillsboro.
Volleyball
Madison-Plains 3, Miami Trace 0
The biggest concern for the coaches of the Madison-Plains girls soccer team heading into a home tilt with visiting Miami Trace Thursday likely wasn’t the team across the net, but rather the one in its own colors.
The Golden Eagles (14-1, 9-0 in SCOL) have had very few challenges this season, so coach Betsy Ames sometimes worries about whether her team will bring the type of focus and intensity often associated with top-notch teams.
The squad easily won its match-up with Trace, taking it 25-9, 25-19, 25-10 and the coach thought her squad did a decent job of taking care of business.
“There is sometimes a tendency to drift and letdown and we did some of that in the second game,” Ames said. “But that was one of the girls goals at the beginning of the season ‘don’t play down to the level of your opponent.’ That’s a problem we’ve had in the past, but they’ve done a pretty job of it this year.”
West Jefferson 3, Millersport 0
The host Roughriders proved to be unkind hosts as they easily dispatched of visiting Millersport during a Mid-State League volleyball match Thursday.
West Jefferson had little trouble in winning 25-9, 25-14, 25-13.
The team will next be in action Saturday when it travels to Logan Elm.
Buckeye Valley 3, Jonathan Alder 0
The host Pioneers were unable to defend their home court and fell to the Barons Thursday 25-19, 25-19, 26-24.
Alder was led by, Lacy Purdum (6 kills, 1 block), Camryn Longworth (5 kills, 3 digs, 1 ace), Leah Riley (4 kills, 3 blocks), Keely Troyer (20 digs, 1 kill, 1 ace) and Whitney Rapp (14 assists, 1 kill, 4 digs).
The team will next be in action Saturday when it travels to River Valley, starting at 10 a.m.
Boys soccer
McClain 10, London 0
The struggles of the London boys soccer team continued with a disappointing 10-0 loss at McClain.
First-year coach Steve Baker acknowledged the difficulties of keeping a team motivated despite a 1-8-3 record.
“It’s definitely a challenge,” Baker said. “It’s a long season and all these losses makes it even longer.”
