UNION TWP. | Wheeler and Hanover Central won their respective girls soccer sectional semifinal games in different ways.
Wheeler scored a goal in the 8th minute and then limited Andrean to two shots in a 2-0 victory, while 9 Hanover Central tallied 37 shots on goal and had seven different players score in a 14-1 win over Washington Township on Thursday night.
The Class A sectional championship game Saturday will be a rematch of a regular-season game, which Hanover Central won 6-5 by scoring four goals in the final 10 minutes.
On Thursday, Lani Eaton gave Wheeler (11-6-1) the lead in the eighth minute off of a corner kick by Alexa Fratzke. The ball came to Eaton, who fired her shot in between the post and Andrean keeper Mady Mandich.
"That set the tone for us," Wheeler coach Vangel Nacovski said. "The game sort of relaxed. It calmed us down."
Eaton scored again in the 54th minute on a shot from about 35 yards out. Abby Zeitler made a move to between two Andrean defenders and passed to Eaton, who took two steps and fired a shot into the upper left corner of the net.
"I saw a free shot, so I took it," Eaton said.
"That second goal was huge though," Nacovski said. "After that second goal, I think that was the game right there."
Mandich made seven saves for the 59ers (4-13-2). Christina Gandy made two saves to post the shutout for the Bearcats.
"Our first touch was off," Andrean coach Tony Pagorek said. "Besides that, it just seemed that for many sequences we were just kind of a step behind, and it just never let us get into a rhythm."
"We got a lot of people behind the ball," Nacovski said. "We tried to go without giving them any shots, and I think we did a great job with that."
Hanover Central (14-1) scored six goals in the first 25 minutes to reach the championship game.
Kirsten Nirtaut scored five goals to lead the Wildcats, who led 8-1 at halftime.
"They were finishing today, too," Hanover Central coach Jim Pattison said. "They were putting the ball in the corners, controlling the tempo of the game. We had a great game. I have to be happy with that."
Blayr Poston tallied three goals, while Kaylin Fanta had two goals. Rylie Singleton, Melissa Balkema, Samantha Bathurst, and Ivy Dawson each added a goal for Hanover Central, which held a 37-3 edge in shots on goal. Singleton also had three assists.
Elizabeth Masson scored the lone goal for the Senators (7-7). Erin James made 24 saves in net for Washington Township.
"Erin did an outstanding job in goal," Washington Twp. coach Ron Goodaker said. "She took a beating, but she continued to play well."
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