Daily Digest: Panthers clinch share of SVC soccer title

CHILLICOTHE - It was a late, dramatic goal. But coach Chris Wallace and his Southeastern Panthers will take a late, dramatic goal in a 1-0 win any day of the week.

The Panthers clinched a share of the Scioto Valley Conference title Monday night, by that final score, with a victory in front of their home crowd over Zane Trace.

The win ends a stretch where Southeastern (6-6-1, 3-1 SVC) has played four games in the past eight days — wins over Piketon and ZT and losses to North Adams and Athens.

"It's tough to play four games in eight days, especially against so many good opponents in that amount of time," Wallace said. "Despite the losses, I feel we gained some strength and gained some knowledge, particularly against Athens. We knew tonight was the main focus. We've known that for a couple of weeks now."

The Panthers' goal came in the 66th minutes when McKinley Mitten scored her area-leading 21st goal of the year off an assist from Alexis Karshner.

"McKinley is always there and ready," Wallace said. "She's an extremely talented player. She faces, in my opinion, an uphill battle in that she's known as a great player. We see teams target her and that can be a challenge."

After Mitten scored, Southeastern held off a furious comeback attempt from Zane Trace (6-5-1, 0-2-1 SVC) to seal the win. But even with the victory over a talented program, Wallace noted there's still much to improve before an impending tournament run.

"We need to look back on the matches where we struggled and focus on what we could've done better," Wallace said. "Those are the scenarios that are going to pop back up at tournament time."

BOYS SOCCER

Zane Trace 2, Southeastern 0

In the nightcap, Southeastern's boys fell to Zane Trace by a 2-0 final.

Scoring for the Pioneers (3-6) were Luke Johnson (37:36 in first half), off an assist from Sean Johnson and Kaden Howard (23:40 in second half), off an assist from Dalton Vollmar. Andrew Ramsey pitched the shutout in goal with a pair of saves.

For Southeastern (3-10), Dawson Steele had six saves in between the pipes.

VOLLEYBALL

Unioto 3, Portsmouth Notre Dame 1

In a non-conference matchup between two elite programs, Unioto (13-1) beat Portsmouth Notre Dame in four sets Monday, 25-22, 25-17, 20-25 and 25-12.

The Shermans were led by Ashley Taylor with 13 kills and 16 digs while Amanda McGlone also posted 13 kills. Madi Eberst passed out 43 assists and posted eight digs, Amber Cottrill had nine kills and 14 digs, and Hallie Pinkerton finished with 12 digs.

Huntington 3, Vinton County 0

The Huntsmen (7-9) continued an upward swing Monday with a 25-15, 25-18, 25-19 sweep of Vinton County at home.

Leading the way win the win was Riley Black with 21 kills, nine digs and 21 assists while Braiden Collins ended the night with six kills and 37 digs. Gus Hooks contributed, finishing with 12 kills, 15 digs and 17 assists, and Shyanne Conley 20 digs, defensively.

Southeastern 3, North Adams 0

On the road, the Panthers (12-2) picked up a quality win over North Adams in three sets, 25-19, 25-20 and 25-17.

Skylar Hice had nine kills and 17 digs, Sierra DeLong had four kills, an ace and 17 digs, Ella Skeens tallied six kills, two aces, five blocks and 10 digs, Lauren Goebel posted 31 assists and six aces, and Jessica Bolte finished with eight kills and four blocks.

GIRLS TENNIS

Chillicothe 3, Unioto 2

Sylvia Gray (6-0, 6-0) and the doubles team of Eden Griesheimer and Neysea Edwards (6-4, 6-4) picked up wins for Unioto (9-7) but it wasn't enough in a 3-2 loss to Chillicothe.

For the Cavaliers (7-6), Brittany Harper (6-0, 6-0), Asia Penn (6-4, 6-2) and first doubles Hannah Kessler and Heidi Arth (6-4, 4-6, 6-3) all picked up victories.