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Salem ties West Branch for share of EBC title

West Branch’s Chloe Dennison dribbles the ball between Salem defenders, Bri Cibula and Hanna Gaither on Wednesday night in Salem.

SALEM — Salem senior Mikaylynn Murphy called it the highlight of her soccer career.

Trailing defending Eastern Buckeye Conference champion West Branch 2-1 with just five minutes left in the Quakers’ league showdown with the Warriors at Sebo Stadium Wednesday night, Murphy took a long crossing pass from teammate Hanna Gaither and rocketed the shot heard ’round Salem into the back of the net as the Quakers tied the Warriors 2-2 and earned at least a piece of the EBC girls soccer title.

“It was great, best feeling ever,” said Murphy afterward of her clutch goal. “West Branch has won the last nine years in a row, so it’s a great feeling to tie them and be on top with them.”

“I’m thrilled with the way the girls played,” said Salem coach Matt Freeman. “The girls showed a lot of heart. We talked about that before the match to go out and leave your mark on this program. Play with heart, intensity and passion and let it fall where it falls.”

The tie upped the Quakers’ record to 11-2-1 and they finish the EBC season at 4-0-1.

West Branch, which has won eight straight league titles in girls soccer, is now 10-0-2 and 3-0-1 in the EBC. The Warriors can tie Salem for the crown if they defeat Carrollton next Wednesday.

“Honestly I thought it was a competitive game,” said West Branch coach Cheryl Ficco. “I know both teams come into the Salem-West Branch rivalry playing all the best and that’s what we saw tonight were two teams that were really going out there and fighting for every ball and trying their best on the field.”

Murphy scored both of the Quakers’ goals. After West Branch had taken a 1-0 lead on a goal by Warrior Chloe Dennison just 1:31 into the game, Murphy tied things at 1-1 with a penalty kick from 18 yards out with 32:14 showing on the first-half clock.

With both teams playing air-tight defense (both the Quakers and Warriors entered the match giving up just seven goals each all season), the score remained tied at 1-1 at halftime.

Scoring chances were hard to come by in the second half but West Branch broke through to take a 2-1 lead on a goal by Sarah Bungard off an assist from Lauren Gossett to give the Warriors a 2-1 lead with 15:35 left in the match.

It set the stage for Murphy’s game-tying boot from the left side with 5:00 showing. The Quakers’ defense made it stand up, holding off West Branch’s offensive attempts in the closing minutes for Salem to secure a share of the EBC crown.

Murphy talked of her winning goal.

“I kind of had a feeling she (Gaither) was going to hit that ball, she had been crossing the balls in all night and she saw someone on the backside and I was there and I just topped it off and put it in,” Murphy said. “It was definitely a great matchup. They (the Warriors) are a team in the district we might get matched up with, so we’ll be ready to go for Round II.”

“It was a big night for her (Murphy), escorting her grandfather out here who is battling cancer,” said Freeman. “I told her it (the game-tying goal) was meant to be.”

Both teams, supporting cancer awareness, participated in the Kick for a Cure event between the junior varsity and varsity events, with players from both schools escorting people fighting cancer or who have beaten cancer. Players from both schools also wore T-shirts with the words “Kick for a Cure.” Proceeds from Wednesday’s match were donated to the fight against cancer.

Afterward, Freeman discussed Salem’s strategy against West Branch.

“We tried to play a little more of a direct game and put the ball back to them and not let them settle in,” he observed. “They have a really good midfield and a great front line, so we felt if we could keep it at their defensive end that they wouldn’t be able to do what they typically do which is get on ball, use their speed and get a goal.”

Ficco talked of Salem’s tying goal.

“We kind of regrouped at halftime and I honestly I thought our second half was pretty good,” she said. “We were able to find the go ahead goal and then unfortunately we left somebody unmarked on the back post and Salem was able to equalize.”

“It a great contest, I have nothing but respect for West Branch’s program and coach Ficco,” said Freeman. “We love big games on big nights and I just couldn’t be happier with the character that our team showed tonight. It’s great to compete against West Branch, they’re the standard in our conference and in the area, so we’re delighted with being able to come back, from going down 1-0 to tying it up.”

Salem goalkeeper Kaylee Carlisle had six saves and West Branch goalkeeper Zoe Sanders had five saves.

Salem returns to action Saturday with a non-league match at Boardman.

West Branch is also on the road Saturday with a non-conference contest at Beaver Local.

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