Girls soccer: Elyria scores late to topple Columbia

COLUMBIA STATION — Elyria coach Emil Haitonic may have said it best after the Pioneers edged Columbia 3-2 Monday night in non-conference play. "We were just lucky," he said. "You just say everything is possible in soccer. (Columbia) came out in the second half and outplayed us. Our goalie had a great day and we pulled it off." Columbia (10-4-1) outshot Elyria 25-10 and controlled the ball for the majority of the action. Like Haitonic said luck played a giant role. "That's exactly what soccer is," said Haitonic, whose teamed improve to 7-8. "You don't have to be the best of teams to win. Sometimes you can have the luck to your side." Elyria's goalkeeper, senior Jayden Daberkow, turned back 17 shots, many coming at point-blank range. She managed to fist one away that appeared to be good and many others she either smothered or caught. "My mind was, 'I'm either getting it out or they're going to have to completely knock me down to get to it,'" said Daberkow. "You've got to be dominant in the box. If you're not dominant, you're not going to be able to be your best." "I hadn't seen them play before, but their goalie was really great," said Columbia coach Blaze Pratt. "Props to her, but that's been our struggle lately, just finishing. It's something we really need to work on." Columbia's goalkeeper wasn't as lucky. With just 2:32 left in the match, freshman Gianna Stervagi bobbled a shot that she initially saved, only to have Elyria's Ehlaia Simmons rebound it back in to give the Pioneers the win. "Our wing, Elaina (Martinez) had a good ball in," said Simmons. "She played it perfectly. It hit her chest and I was able to put it in the left corner." "We just need to work on our defensive players getting the ball out stronger, and be more confident on the ball," said Pratt. "It's also been an issue with us. We just keep working on the same thing." Martinez scored Elyria's first goal, just 3:12 into the match. Ironically, it was pass off the foot of Simmons that found Martinez open in front of Columbia's goal. Elyria's second goal came with some luck as well after Stervagi and Elyria's Amy Heflin got tangled up in front of the goal. Heflin broke free with the ball and a clear shot, which she popped in with 4:01 to play in the first half to give the Pioneers a 2-0 lead. Columbia wasn't about to roll over. The Raiders scored off a nice pass by sophomore Natalie Miller in front to senior Khrystyna Tomashchuk, who managed to get it past Daberkow with 27:08 left. "I'll give props to my assistant coach (Jason Prather)," said Pratt. "He told them (Monday) was all about teacher appreciation day. These people showed up and they've been showing up for you. Be thankful for our teachers and show them how you persist and how you continue to have a good game, and I think they did that. We just fell short of putting the ball in the net." Sophomore Allison Boardman scored off a corner kick with 15:26 remaining to tie the game. When Daberkow saw the winning score from Simmons, she knew she had to knuckle down to keep the Raiders from scoring again. "I still felt a lot of pressure," said Daberkow. "It's only one goal and (Columbia) had shown they can bounce back fast. I was just trying to keep myself ready." Contact Tim Gebhardt at 329-7135 or timothygeb@msn.com. Elyria 3, Columbia 2 Goals: Elyria – Elaina Martinez, Amy Heflin, Ehlaia Simmons. Columbia – Khrystyna Tomashchuk, Allison Boardman. Assists: Elyria – Simmons, Columbia – Natalie Miller. Shots: Elyria 10, Columbia 25. Saves: Elyria – Jayden Daberkow 17, Columbia – Gianna Stervagi 4. Corner Kicks: Elyria 3, Columbia 11. Penalty/Free Kicks: Elyria 6, Columbia 6. Yellow Cards: None. Halftime: Elyria 2-0.