Recap: Talawanda girls soccer thrashes Purcell Marian 7-0 thanks to Jaklyn Wynn’s four-goal game

Thirty-six miles south of Talawanda High School was the scene for a first round match in the Ohio High School Athletic Association (OHSAA) Division III Southwest 2 Sectional. 

The Lady Brave, seeded 12th in the bracket, travelled just under an hour to Purcell Marian High School in Cincinnati to face the Cavaliers, the 11th seed and made what was a close match on paper not as close in actuality, winning 7-0.

On the turf field, sandwiched between the street and the main high school building, Talawanda and Purcell stood across the red and yellow “PM” logo for introductions, a prayer and the national anthem. Then, the Lady Brave took the opening kickoff and the clock began to run.

The first 10 minutes were a feeling-out process for the two opponents. Possession bounced back and forth with turnovers aplenty, as the passing consistency for both teams swung up and down. 

Talawanda took charge early, running the offense through the wings, with freshman forward Karsyn Eversole on the left and junior forward Brooklyn Porchowsky on the right. But the Cavaliers took advantage of a couple loose balls, and the partnership between sophomore midfielder Zoe Bess and sophomore striker Tylee Littlejohn was evident.

The Lady Brave defensive line and defensive midfielders stepped up when they needed to, tracking back and forcing the two attackers into mistakes with the ball. 

Seventeen minutes in, Talawanda had its first real chance of the game, but a big, aggressive save from the Cavaliers goaltender, junior Yoana Perez Agustin, kept things knotted at 0-0. 

However, it didn’t take long for the Lady Brave to come back and convert.

Two minutes later, senior forward Jaklyn Wynn received a pass from junior forward Veronica Dillhoff through the Cavaliers midfielders and defense. She took the ball in stride and fired it low and hard for the first goal of the game.

Possession from that point was all in Talawanda’s favor. The group’s passing looked completely different from the first 10 minutes, and had it not been for a couple of excellent physical plays by Marian defenders, the Lady Brave could have been up by more goals earlier in the game.

Five and a half minutes after her first tally, Wynn found the scoresheet a second time thanks to being in the right place at the right time. Following a shot that escaped the grasp of the goalkeeper Agustin, she slammed the ball in to give Talawanda a 2-0 lead.

Then, after more possession of the ball and continued pass attempts behind the backline of the Cavaliers, Talawanda finally found another chance off the foot of Wynn. With 4:23 remaining in the half, a pass to space she could run into allowed her the perfect opportunity to place the ball on the far side of the net and put the visitors up 3-0. 

The Lady Brave entered halftime up three goals on the back of their senior forward, despite the slow start. Head Coach Darrel Davis mentioned the lack of fluidity and connectedness at the game’s outset being a focal point for the group moving forward into the next round of the postseason.

“I think one thing we'll take from this game is… finding your rhythm and finding your game from the beginning is really important,” Davis said postgame. “Otherwise, the other team imposes their (will), and so – we talked about this at halftime – we have to meet the moment. ”

Despite going into the half down 3-0, there was a scent of “we’re still in this game” from the Purcell Marian fans in the stands. 

“These first few minutes are going to be crucial,” one fan said. 

But Dillhoff took all that air out of the home crowd with one swing of her leg.

Just 54 seconds in, Dillhoff added a tally of her own – forcing a Cavaliers turnover, finding space through the middle of the field and sending the ball past the goaltender and into the twine for a 4-0 Lady Brave lead.

Four minutes later, the Cavaliers had their first good look at a goal of the half thanks to a free kick just outside the box. Sophomore forward Lennon Newton sailed the ball toward the net, but the shot was too high and went over the crossbar. 

With 27:55 remaining in the second half, Wynn once again found herself in an opportune place. A shot that bounced off the hands of the Cavaliers goaltender found Wynn’s foot on the rebound, registering her fourth goal of the game and putting Talawanda up 5-0.

Wynn’s success this season for the Lady Brave is well-documented. She’s not just a vocal leader on the field, but her play leads the way as well, and it requires the utmost attention from the opposing coaches and players. She tied for fourth in the entire Southwestern Buckeye League for goals in the regular season and picked up right where she left off, giving the Cavaliers a tough assignment in regard to adjustments.

“It's not just the four goals that she scored, but she creates space for other people, and that's one of the tactical changes we made,” Davis said. “She's really technically gifted. She can take care of the ball. She's strong. She has an eye for a good pass, and she's a team leader. So people listen, and that's a powerful combination to have in one player.”

Following Wynn’s fourth tally of the night, the Brave poured it on in the next three and a half minutes. 

With 25:38 remaining in the match, Dillhoff found senior forward Lindsay Huff in the middle of the field. She moved the ball to her right foot from 15 yards out and fired the ball into the top right corner – an impossible shot to stop – for a 6-0 lead. 

The nail in the coffin was hammered by Porchowsky just 1:25 later, as she raced to a loose ball, which she had been doing all night, and sent it past the goalie for a 7-0 lead. After plenty of chances through the first half, it felt as if a goal was coming her way, and she continued to spray chances at the net even after scoring.

A couple of chances came back to back for Wynn and Dillhoff with just under nine minutes left, but Agustin made a lunging save with her hands and another with her chest. 

The Cavaliers made a push within the last two minutes, but there was no coming back from the monster deficit that sat on the digital scoreboard behind the southern endzone. The full-time whistle blew, and Talawanda walked away victorious in the first round of the OHSAA girls soccer playoffs.

“I thought we put a good shift in as a team,” Davis said. “We played our game, which is to control the ball, move the ball, find space and after a while they'll get tired. So we were able to exploit that a bit.”

Talwanda will play their second round game against conference rival and the No.1 seed Ross High School Rams, to whom they lost twice 6-0 and 4-0 in the regular season, once on the road and once at home. The game will be played at 7 p.m. on Oct. 26 at Ross High School.