District girls soccer: Tenley Winter helps Buckeye bury Cloverleaf

YORK TWP. — As a freshman on the first Buckeye girls soccer team to win a district championship, Tenley Winter was nervous. The sophomore forward handled herself like a seasoned pro Thursday, scoring twice and adding an assist to lift the Bucks to a 3-0 victory over Medina County rival Cloverleaf in a Division III, Northeast 2 District quarterfinal. "Coming in as a freshman on varsity last year, it definitely was a shock going into the playoffs," Winter said. "The entire intensity, teams play harder. Going into this year, we all have the mentality that we have to do the same thing (as last year) and keep the intensity up throughout the entire game. "It was an exciting win, for sure." Ninth-seeded Buckeye (11-4-2) advanced to face No. 15 Canfield (10-6-2) in a semifinal Tuesday. The Cardinals beat No. 36 Boardman (4-14) 1-0 on Thursday. The Bucks have won 10 of their last 11 games since beginning the season 1-3-2, while the Colts (9-6-3) won four of their final six. "Over the season, our team gained a good bond," Cloverleaf senior Lainey Manns said. "That caused us to win a lot more games (late) and look better as a team. In this game, we came out with confidence and fighting the whole time." Cloverleaf had scored at least three goals in eight games this season. The Colts also had 51 goals on the year but were unable to solve the Buckeye defense, which has allowed only 12 goals. The starting back line of Grace Pronik, Lenna McCulloch, Kendyl Dukarm and Olivia Pedmo did a great job of keeping the Colts' three-pronged scoring attack of Abby Plowman, Manns and Reilee Letner in check. Junior goalie Carlie Gunkelman stopped the three shots on frame that she faced. "I felt like our connection was still good tonight," Manns said. "We were having trouble finding through balls and passes. The defense was really high. Through all of that, we were still finding things and getting up there (into the scoring third)." After an opening 10 minutes where neither team found much rhythm — the ball was being played primarily on the sidelines, leading to a series of changes in possession on throw-ins — Winter broke the ice with a perfect corner kick that curved into the goal after floating just over teammate Maddie Wilhelm's head. "I kind of just hit," Winter said. "I saw it starting to curve in, and the next thing I know it was in. It was definitely a crazy angle." Cloverleaf goalie Stella Bennett (8 saves) and the backline featuring Kiersyn Berry, Lauren Foley, Nora Bammerlin, Kelsey Hall and Taylor Munchick kept the game in question into the second half until a lightning-quick counterattack by the Bucks expanded the lead. Plowman lined up for a corner kick for the Colts, but the Buckeye defense thwarted the threat and quickly got the ball out to Winter, who fed Wilhelm. The junior forward slipped the ball past Bennett for a 2-0 lead with 26:05 remaining. "As a forward, I just want to do everything I can to put the ball in the net," Wilhelm said. "Goals win games, but so does defense, and our back line is really good this year and our goalie Carlie Gunkelman is amazing." Less than three minutes later, Winter scored her second goal, this time on an assist by Brooklyn DiEgidio. Contact John Urchek at jurchek@medina-gazette.com. Buckeye 3, Cloverleaf 0 Division III, Northeast 2 District Quarterfinal CLOVERLEAF&emsp;&emsp; 0 0 — 0 BUCKEYE &emsp;&emsp;&emsp; 1 2 — 3 First B — Tenley Winter, 29:55. Second B — Maddie Wilhelm (Winter), 23:15. B — Winter (Brooklyn DiEigidio), 23:15. Shots on goal — Cloverleaf 3, Buckeye 11. Corner kicks — Cloverleaf 2, Buckeye 2. Saves — Stella Bennett (C) 8, Carlie Gunkelman (B) 3. Records — Cloverleaf (9-6-3), Buckeye (11-4-2).