The Bellefontaine girls soccer team ran into some tough defense.
The Lady Chieftains hosted Piqua for a Division III sectional tournament game on Monday, with the Indians claiming a 3-0 victory.
Bellefontaine ends the year with a record of 6-12.
Piqua scored early in each half, with both goals by Lexi Burroughs. Madison Rampulla assisted on each as well. The third goal was due to a misplayed shot by a Bellefontaine defender.
Coach Aaron Shumaker of Bellefontaine said Piqua did a good job defensively, especially keying on senior forward Callie Shumaker. “It just wasn’t our night,” he said.
He noted that the Chieftains have a very small bench, and an injury during the game reduced that margin even further.
He expressed appreciation for the team’s six seniors, and noted that several key players will return, and the program will continue to build.
Ava Watson had a shot in the opening minutes, but it sailed over the top of the net.
Shortly thereafter, Piqua moved down the field and Burroughs got a shot from the right edge to go in with 33:27 left.
Keeper Emma Whitaker made a save a little bit later. With 22 minutes left, Shumaker drove to the net, but her shot was turned away.
Another good save by Whitaker came on a hard shot by the Indians.
With 15 minutes left in the half, Watson had a free kick, but it went wide to the right. Bellefontaine kept up the pressure as best they could. With six minutes to go, Watson took a shot from the edge of the net, which was blocked by Piqua keeper Rylee Weldon.
Each team had scoring chances in the final couple of minutes, with Shumaker getting the attempt for Bellefontaine.
At the break, it remained 1-0 in favor of Piqua.
The Indians wasted little time, however, once play resumed. With 59 seconds elapsed, Rampulla sent it to Burroughs. Her shot went to the upper left corner, out of Whitaker’s reach and made it a two-goal cushion.
Whitaker then made saves a few minutes apart on a couple more shots by Piqua.
With 25 minutes to go, Shumaker was taken down by Piqua’s Sam Clark. Clark received a yellow card. Watson set up for the free kick, but it went wide to the right of the goal.
The third Piqua goal came with 22 minutes left. The best scoring chance by Bellefontaine was with about eight minutes to go on a shot by Shumaker. Weldon deflected it and it bounded over the top of the net and out of bounds.
Piqua advances to face Sidney in a sectional final on Thursday at 7 p.m.
