Madison, Ontario provides a glimpse into tournament future with thriller

ONTARIO — The Madison Rams seem to always save their best for the Ontario Warriors.

And Tuesday night was no different as the Rams took home a 2-1 victory in the annual Richland County girls soccer rivalry game for their third straight win over the Warriors.

"I thought tonight, we played the best game we have all year," Madison coach Zac Huff said. "We finished our opportunities and played really well in the first half. It was like a track meet and the fastest we could go. It was fun."

After a scoreless first half, Madison got on the board when Ellie Powell ripped a back-post goal with 34:06 remaining in the game.

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"I saw it coming, and I just kept telling myself to stay over top of this and put it on the back post," Powell said.

Later, Kya Swigart found the ball at her feet after a corner kick scrambled around in the box, and she finished off the Rams' second goal of the night at the 10:23 mark. Ontario's Hattie Yugovich scored the Warriors' lone goal on a penalty kick after she was fouled in the box with 6:26 left. The Madison defense hung on to pick up the win.

"We just lacked effort at times, and we just didn't finish," Ontario coach Larry Atkinson said. "We had much better opportunities than they did. We hit the post in the first half. We just struggle to finish in the tougher games.

"We are starting to talk about making the same mistakes and missing the same opportunities after each loss. We have to get better at those things. Even the games we win, we talk about how we have to be more efficient. We aren't quite at that point just yet, but we will figure it out."

Ontario fell to 5-3-1 on the season and will play Marion Harding on Sept. 24. The loss to Madison likely means the Warriors will not receive the No. 1 overall seed at next month's tournament draw like they have in recent years.

"We have always gone in at No. 1, and it hasn't panned out," Atkinson said. "Now, we are probably going to be a No. 3 seed, and I think that takes some pressure off. But we will play wherever we are put. We will work some things out and pinpoint areas we need to improve on, and we will be ready."

Swigart scored her third goal of the season, and Powell added her second as the Rams have now had 12 different players score goals and no one has more than three.

"We are still looking for that goal-scorer," Huff said. "Every game, it is someone new which is good in a certain aspect because we don't just rely on one girl to do our scoring."

It could be a major reason why the Rams are 6-2-1 and just beat their Richland County rival.

"It really builds our confidence and hypes us up for our next game," Powell said. "We are very excited to play now. It is always nerve wrecking to play Ontario, but we always want to play our best against them and we did."

The Rams likely won't earn the No. 1 seed either after a loss to Norwalk on Aug. 24, but Tuesday night prepared them for a tournament run that could lead to their seventh district championship in eight years. They fully expect to see Ontario again down the tournament trail.

"There is a great possibility we will see them again in the tournament, and we now know what to expect," Huff said. "We haven't played that fast paced of a game for a full 80 minutes this year so we will be ready for it next time we see them."

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This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: Madison, Ontario provides a glimpse into tournament future with thriller