10/15/14 - Blan falls to Norwood in tournament play
The Blanchester Lady Cats traveled to Norwood for tournament play and lost by a score of 6-0. The first twenty minutes if the game was scoreless, as both teams played solid defense. Norwood's first goal came off of an odd bounce from the outside of the post that saw the ball curve back into play and it was finished off by Norwood to take the lead. That goal gave the Indians the confidence to finish the half strong as they added three more goals to push the halftime lead to 4-0. The second half began much like the first, as play was held scoreless for the first twenty minutes. Norwood would add two more goals in the half, including one with two seconds remaining. The Lady Cats senior quartet of Julia Howard, Bella Cook, Kayla Nause and Brooke Gibbons all played well in the final game in a Wildcat uniform. Chloe Caplinger had 11 saves in goal for the Lady Cats.
10/9/14 - Blan Lady Cats Celebrate Senior Night despite loss to Georgetown
The Blanchester Lady Cats hosted Georgetown Thursday night, which was senior night for the Wildcats. The Wildcats honored their four seniors; Julia Howard, Bella Cook, Kayla Nause, and Brooke Gibbons, for all dedication that they have displayed for the soccer program. Despite playing a competitive game, the Cats were unable to come away with a victory and fell by a score of 2-1. The Cats got off to a quick lead after senior captain Kayla Nause scored her second goal of the year. However, the slippery field conditions caught up with the Cats as they conceded two goals in the first half after slips to take a 2-1 deficit into halftime. The second half featured much of the same, as the Lady Cats out-shot Georgetown by a solid margin in the game, but were unable to convert. Blan's seniors all played great games in their final home game of their careers. Merri Lindsey had four saves for the Cats in goal. The Cats record falls to 3-11-2 on the season. The Lady Cats play Norwood in the opening round of the tournament on Wednesday the 15th.
10/8/14 - Blan Lady Cats defeated by Bethel Tate
The Blan Lady Cats soccer team lost to the Bethel Tate Tigers by a score of 3-1 on Wednesday night. After an evenly matched opening 15 minutes, the Tigers did all their damage offensively in a five minute span, scoring three goals between the 15th and 20th minute. The first goal came on a well place through ball that snuck by the Cats defenders and led to a close range shot on goal. The second goal was scored off of a collision with the Blan keeper and a Bethel player that dislodged the ball into the goal and knocked out Blan goalie Chloe Caplinger for the remainder of the game. The third goal came quickly after the goalie switch, pushing the score to 3-0. Blan regrouped, however, and found their rhythm offensively and began to press their attack for the remainder of the half. Sophomore Bekah Sams launched a rocket from 35 yards out that beat the keeper to pull the deficit to 3-1 with 15 minutes remaining in the half. The second half featured balanced play from each team, with Blan narrowly missing several chances at goal to close the gap and neither team able to score. Sophomore Mackenzie Hamm played a great game for the Cats with a continuous motor all game. Chloe Caplinger had 4 saves in goal and Merri Lindsey had 13 saves after coming in after the injury. Blan's record is 3-10-2.
10/4/14 - Fayetteville tops Blanchester Lady Cats
The Blanchester Lady Cats lost a close game to the Fayetteville Rockets in a highly contested match by a score of 2-1. Fayetteville starting the scoring in the first half roughly 15 minutes into the match to take a vital 1-0 lead in a game that featured low temperatures and very high wind. The Cats kept possession for nearly the full duration of the half, but despite 13 shots on goal in the half, could not find the net and went into half time down one. In the second half the Rockets used the advantage of the wind at their backs to put in another goal to go up 2-0. The Cats finally burst through the defense to lower the lead to 2-1 on a goal by Bekah Sams with Audrey Jordan assisting. Blanchester missed several opportunities to tie the game late in the half, however, and were not able to complete the comeback. Sams played a strong game offensively for the Cats while Courtney Lillich played well defensively. Chloe Caplinger had 16 saves for the Cats in goal. The Cats record stands at 3-9-2.
10/2/14 - Blan Wildcats tie Williamsburg
The Blanchester Lady Wildcats used a late rally to tie the Williamsburg Wildcats by a score of 3-3. Blan fell behind early as Williamsburg capitalized off of defensive miscues to take a 2-0 lead into halftime. Coming out of halftime, Williamsburg scored again within the first 5 minutes to push their lead to the largest it would get at 3-0. Blanchester finally awoke offensively in the second half, however, and junior Tristan Culberson turned a steal into a long range goal for her fifth goal of the year. Later in the half, sophomore Bekah Sams converted a penalty kick to close the lead to 3-2 with 16 minutes left in the half. Blan kept up the attack and were able to equalize with only 9 minutes remaining after senior Kayla Nause crossed the ball from the end line to senior Julia Howard who finished it off for her 8th goal of the year. Blan continued to attack but were unable to find the winning goal after completing the comeback. In goal Chloe Caplinger had 9 saves for the Cats. Blan's record sits at 3-8-2 overall and 3-4-1 in league play.
9/30/14 - Blan Lady Cats fall to CNE
The Blan Lady Cats lost to CNE by a score of 5-1. CNE currently sits at the top of the SBAAC national division and showed their quality in the first half, putting in 3 goals. CNE picked up where they left off in the second half, netting two more goals in the first 20 minutes of the half. Blan continued to battle despite the deficit and finally broke through the CNE defense as Audrey Jordan scored her 6th goal of the year by finding the corner of the goal off an assist from Shauna Fiebing. Defender Savana Greene played a strong game for the Lady Cats. Chloe Caplinger had 11 saves for the Cats in the first half and Merri Lindsey had 9 in the second half. Blan's record sits at 3-8-1 and their league record is 3-4.
9/25/14 - Howard Powers Blan past Felicity
The Blanchester Lady Wildcats put on a show for their young fans during the annual "Youth Night" at Barber Memorial field by defeating the Felicity Cardinals by a score of 8-0. Senior captain Julia Howard set the pace for the Lady Cats by notching the first hat trick of her career, with two coming in the first half. The Cats started their scoring barrage in the 26th minute on a goal from junior Audrey Jordan off of a nice pass from sophomore Bekah Sams. The next 20 minutes of the first have featured scores from all angles for the Cats, as senior captain Kayla Nause bent in a free kick over top of a defensive wall and senior captain Bella Cook blasted a long range shot to score their first goals of the season. Tristan Culberson also scored for the Cats off of a corner kick, and in addition to Howard's two first half goals, the Cats went into halftime with a lead of 6-0. During the second half the Cats picked up where they left off with Howard finishing off her hat trick and Bekah Sams slicing home a goal for her second of the season. Merri Lindsey had four saves for the Cats in the shutout. Gathering assists for the Cats were Sams with three, Jordan with two, Nause with one, and freshmen Taylor McQuitty with one. The Cats improved their record to 3-7-1 overall and to 3-3 in league play.
9/23/14 - Norwood defeats Blanchester
The Blanchester Lady Cats fell to the Norwood Indians in a hard fought game by a score of 4-1. The Wildcats got on the scoreboard first off a long range free kick by Audrey Jordan in the 20th minute. The Cats surrendered the lead however with 7 minutes to go in the half, which sent the game to halftime at 1-1. In the second half Norwood found their rhythm and starting taking more shots, and were able to put in 3 second half goals. The Cats had their own chances in the second half with strong play from Bekah Sams and Kayla Nause, but the Cats were unable to finish shots. Chloe Caplinger had a great game in goal for the Cats notching 19 saves in her first action in goal since returning from an early season injury. The Cats record stands at 2-7-1.
9/18/14 - Blan loses to Batavia
The Blanchester Lady Cats were defeated by the Batavia Bulldogs by a score of 3-1. The Bulldogs struck first 15 minutes into the game off of a long shot that took a short bounce to sneak past the Blan keeper. Blan answered back two minutes later with a strike from Tristan Culberson off of a cros from Audrey Jordan. The game stayed at a deadlock until Batavia used precision passing to find on open shot at goal to take the lead 2-1, and it stayed that way until half. The second half was played at a stalemate until 2 minutes remaining when Batavia finished off the scoring with one last goal as the Wildcats sent players forward to try and even up the game. Playing strong defense for the Cats were defenders Emma Gundler and Jasmine Maloney, as well as forward Tristan Culberson. Merri Lindsey had 9 saves on the night. Blan's record now stands at 2-6-1 on the year.
9/16/14 - Blan can't muster comeback against Fairfield
The Blanchester Lady Cats soccer team came up short in a comeback attempt against the Fairfield Lions. The Lions stunned the Cats in the first half, scoring four goals in opening half. The Lady Cats finally found their rhythm, but it was too little too late as they could not close the gap. The Cats got on the board with goals from Julia Howard and Tristan Culberson, with the assists coming from Shauna Fiebing and Bekah Sams respectively. Audrey Jordan scored off a penalty kick in her first game back in action after missing five games with injury. The Cats outshot the Lions with 29 shots, but could not capitalize enough to even the score. Merri Lindsey had 17 saves in goal. The Cats fall to 2-5-1 on the season. The Lions were led by Kaitlin Evans who scored 3 goals for a hat trick.
9/11/14 - Blan falters late in loss to New Richmond
The Blanchester Lady Wildcats soccer team lost to New Richmond by a score of 3-0. The two teams played a very competitive first half that featured great defensive efforts from both sides. The game went to halftime tied up at zero, and the second half opened up in the same manner. After playing solidly for the first 20 minutes of the second half, Blan faltered late and allowed a New Richmond goal off of a bobbled save attempt. The Lions added two more long range goals in the final ten minutes as Blan tried to send more players forward in an attempt to tie the game. Two of the New Richmond goals were scored by Maren Hance and one by Emily Belmont. Senior Bella Cook and junior Shauna Fiebing played valiantly in the loss for Blanchester, and Merri Lindsey had 19 saves. Blan falls to 2-4-1 with the loss.
9/9/14 - Blanchester Lady Cats Soccer Fall to Georgetown
The Blanchester Wildcats girls soccer team suffered a defeat to the Georgetown Lady G-Men in their first matchup against each other this season by a score of 2-0. The first half featured a tight game with Blanchester missing a goal off of the inside post, but not being able to punch it in for the score. The game looked like it was headed to halftime as a 0-0 tie, but Georgetown junior Cheyenne Dunseith outran the Cats on a long pass from midfield to score with a minute left before halftime. Dunseith added another goal early in the second half and Georgetown held off a late surge from the Cats to close out the game. Blanchester got another strong game from Courtney Lillich on the defensive end and Bella Cook in the midfield. The Cats record falls to 2-3-1 with the loss and they take on New Richmond on Thursday night.
9/6/14 - Blanchester Lady Cats Soccer tie Goshen Warriors
The Blanchester Lady Cats varsity soccer team tied the Goshen Warriors with a score of 1-1 on Saturday. The match-up provided a hard fought match between the two teams, with neither team being able to crack the other's defense in the first half as the teams entered half time at 0-0. Both squads continued to have their attacks stymied by quality defense until Blanchester scored off of a corner kick with 15 minutes remaining. Blan captain Julia Howard swung in a corner kick to junior Tristan Culberson who snuck it past the Goshen keeper to break the tie with her first goal of the season. The lead was short lived, however, as Goshen answered back with a goal off of a corner kick less than 5 minutes later, evening up the game at 1-1. The Cats strong defense was led by Jasmine Maloney and Emma Gundler, and Blan keeper Merri Lindsey added 12 saves in the goal. The Lady Cats record now stands at 2-2-1.
9/4/14 - Blan falls to Bethel-Tate
The Blanchester Lady Wildcats fell 2-0 in a hard fought battle against Bethel-Tate in their first league match-up of the season. The two teams played to an evenly matched first half with both teams attempting and just missing scoring chances, with the only separation being a corner kick goal from Bethel-Tate in the 12th minute of the game. After play resumed in the second half, Bethel-Tate began to control the rhythm of the game and scored once again off of a corner kick to push the lead to two goals. Blan keeper Merri Lindsey played another great game for the Cats in goal as she was able to make a diving save on a penalty kick after a handball in the box with less than 10 minutes remaining to continue to give the Cats life in the game. Her penalty kick save was one of 9 saves for Lindsey on the night. Also playing well for Blan in the loss were defensive captain Jasmine Maloney, defender Courtney Lillich and freshmen forward Sierra Drake. The Cats record now stands at 2-2 overall.
9/2/14 - Lady Cats Soccer top Williamsburg
The Blanchester Wildcats girls soccer team came away with a league win against the Williamsburg Wildcats by a score of 3-1 on a rain filled night. Blanchester controlled the flow of the game in the first half as they put in all three of their goals in the opening half. Scoring got underway for the Lady Cats with aggressive play from freshmen Sierra Drake as she stole the ball and found an open Bekah Sams who finished off Drake's assist with a shot to the corner of the net in the 17th minute. Moments later Drake picked up her second assist as senior captain Julia Howard scored from close range. Blan finished off the scoring as Howard blasted a long range shot when the keeper found herself to far from the goal to get her 3rd goal of the young season. After halftime Blan continued to attack, attempting over 10 shots in the second half but they were not able to increase their lead. Williamsburg also came alive in the second half, with sophomore Hope Schaljo scoring one goal and sending a constant barrage of shots on goal. Blan keeper Merri Lindsey was up to the task, however, as she turned away three one on one break away shots on route to getting 11 saves on the night in an amazing performance. Also standing out for Blan were Emma Gundler and Kayla Nause. Blan improved their record to 2-1 on the year and take on Bethel-Tate on Thursday at home.
8/27/14 - Wildcats fall to CNE
The Blanchester Lady Wildcats soccer team lost their home opener to the Clermont Northeastern Rockets 4-0 on Wednesday night. CNE jumped out to an early 1-0 lead, then tightened up defensively to keep out the Wildcats throughout the rest of the first half, despite several good attempts on goal that the Cats created. During the second half, CNE took control of the game and added 3 second half goals to seal the game for the Rockets. The Wildcats got good play from junior midfielder Audrey Jordan, who had to leave at half with an injury, as well as Shauna Fiebing and Emma Gundler. Merri Lindsey added 5 saves in the loss. The Cats return to action on September 2nd at Williamsburg looking to improve upon their 1-1 record.
8/26/14 - Blanchester tops Felicity
The Blanchester Lady Wildcats girls soccer team took on the Felicity Cardinals in their opening conference game and came away with an impressive 4-1 victory. The first half was controlled by the Wildcats as they displayed crisp passing and a constant attack, leading to three goals. The scoring got underway in the 14th minute on a head ball goal from senior captain Julia Howard off of a long cross from fellow senior captain Bella Cook. Junior Audrey Jordan added the next two goals from powerful long shots off of assists from another senior captain Kayla Nause and Cook. At the start of the second half Felicity struck back with a quick goal, but Blan answered right back with a Mackenzie Hamm goal off an assist from Bekah Sams. The Cats got great defensive play from all players, with Emma Gundler and Jasmine Maloney as standouts. Merri Lindsey added two saves in the goal. Blan returns to action on Wednesday night in their home opener against Clermont Northeastern.