Cavaliers defeat Panthers, 5-1

It’s been a long, tough and certainly, at times, a frustrating series in boys soccer between Miami Trace and the Chillicothe Cavaliers.

Another chapter in the series played out after dark following another very hot day in Fayette County Thursday, Aug. 29.

Chillicothe led 3-0 at the half and 4-0 before Miami Trace scored at the 31:40 mark of the second half.

The Cavaliers scored with just over 19 minutes to play in the match to set the final score at 5-1.

Miami Trace’s goal came on a direct kick from senior Levi Morrison.

With the players set, Morrison drilled a shot from 38 yards out into the upper right corner of the goal for what proved to be Miami Trace’s only score of the match.

For Miami Trace, senior keeper Avery Bennett was credited with five saves.

Chillicothe had 25 shots to just two for the Panthers.

“I’m going to give all the credit to my staff,” Miami Trace head coach Josh Thoroman said. “We get 10 minutes for halftime. It’s a time for the captains and the seniors to address their team. It’s their game; we’re here for them.

“For the seniors, this is it,” Thoroman said. “We want to give those captains and seniors a chance to talk to their team. Then, as a staff, as it gets close to (the second half) we have our pointers we want to make. We kind of compare notes before we jump into our halftime talk.

“Coach (Aaron) Teter, coach (Joe) Flach, coach (Matt) Esker and coach (Michael) Miller, I want to give them a lot of credit for our second half play,” Thoroman said. “We all had observations on what Chillicothe was doing to us. To come out and play them 2-1 in the second 40 minutes, was great. Our team continues to grow.”

Miami Trace (0-2 FAC, 1-3-1 overall) hosts Waverly Saturday at 1 p.m.

The Panthers host former South Central Ohio League opponent Clinton-Massie Tuesday at 5:30 p.m.