Red Devils control Piqua, earn shutout

Coming into their game with Tippecanoe, the Piqua boys soccer team had won seven games on the year. The problem was that they were facing off with a Red Devils team that had won seven games in a row.

Tipp dominated from the start, scoring four goals in the first half and cruising to a 6-0 win against the Indians. This earned them their eighth straight win and tenth on the season without a loss, along with two ties.

“If you told this group at the beginning of the year that they would be 10-0-2 going into the final two weeks of the regular season, they would take that ten times out of ten,” Tipp coach Joel Slyman said. “We are proud of the way we have battled and improved throughout the year, getting better and trending upwards going into the tournament.”

“I wish we had executed at a little higher rate, but after the tough week we have just had, it's tough for guys mentally to get ready for that, but they still delivered. I am proud of where we are at right now.”

Tipp scored early on when Kaleb Logan knocked one in just four minutes into the game to give Tipp an early 1-0 lead.

At 28:42, the Red Devils scored again when Logan McEntyre scored when he shot one from the right side that ricocheted off the keeper into the net for a 2-0 lead.

Griffin Federle made it 3-0 at the 15:57 mark of the first half when he secured a goal past the Piqua keeper. Two minutes later, it was McEntyre scoring again to push the Tipp lead to 4-0 at the break.

“Piqua worked for 80 minutes tonight, and their work rate was good,” Slyman said. “To me, they are the ‘next team’ after maybe Troy, Butler, and us, and that is a testament to their coaching staff. We couldn’t take them lightly, and we just executed tonight and had a lot of different scorers.”

Cam Smith made it 5-0 with Mason Mader picking up the assist in the second half, then Maddox Robinson finished the scoring late in the game.

“Logan (McEntyre) had a big night and also had a big goal against Indian Hill and I think that jumpstarted him,” Slyman said. “Maddox and Cam have started to build chemistry up top, and we have to keep getting better.”