WATERLOO – Triad head coach Matt Bettlach and the Knights girls soccer team know a thing or two about Waterloo.
Bettlach, in his 11th postseason as head coach, has played the Bulldogs eight times in the playoffs. It was the fifth straight year they’ve met for a sectional title.
And it was the fifth straight year that Triad walked out with the hardware.
The Knights scored just 42 seconds into the game and never looked back, routing Waterloo 7-0. It was the most lopsided scoreline since an 8-0 Triad win back on May 13, 2003.
The Knights are now 24-4-2 against Waterloo under Bettlach.
“Waterloo’s our biggest rival, and if we give them any light of day, they’re going to take it to us,” Bettlach said. “So, we had to come out and establish right away that we were the experienced team. We don’t ever take Waterloo lightly, never have, never will.”
Scoring in under a minute certainly helps the cause.
Claire Gough netted the early goal, and it was all Triad from there.
Alina Ayran nearly doubled the lead in the 17th minute, but Waterloo keeper Makayla Gummersheimer saved her shot.
Not long after, Triad did double that lead. In the 22nd minute, Emma Correale ran onto a bouncing through ball and hit a half volley shot that chipped over the onrushing Gummersheimer.
Kamryn Bohnenstiehl and Jaden Sparks both poked home goals from corner kicks just minutes apart as Triad took a 4-0 lead into halftime.
“It’s funny. In my head, I was kind of thinking we could do that,” Bettlach said about the lopsided scoreline. “But when you’re playing Waterloo and the whistle blows, it doesn’t matter what stats are, records are, players are, Waterloo is one of those opponents that we can’t ever take lightly.”
The Knights matched the intensity of the first 40 minutes and scored quickly again, this time just 18 seconds into the half. London Looby made a charge toward goal, beat two defenders, and shot it left-footed into the far post to make it 5-0.
Izzy Hancock scored a penalty, and Page Schmelzer picked up the rebound from Bohnenstiehl’s free kick that rang off the post, to get to the final of 7-0.
Seven goals from seven different players.
“I think our girls came out with a little chip on their shoulder, a little aggression, and finished this game strong,” Bettlach said.
Waterloo ends its season at 15-7-2. Triad improves to 19-5 and advances to the super-sectional on Tuesday, June 3, at 6 p.m. The Knights will host the Springfield Senators (24-1-1).
“The games from here on out are not easy, and we’re going to have to work for it,” Bettlach said. “This was the first step for that.”
“But to go home Tuesday and play on our turf for a super-sectional, a chance to go to state, it’s what high school sports are all about.”
The Knights are looking to advance to their eighth state tournament, sixth under Bettlach.
The Senators won their second sectional title under head coach Pat Phillips on Friday, beating Pleasant Plains 2-0. Their leading goal scorer, sophomore Kamryn Hoffman, has found the back of the net 33 times this season. She scored both goals in the final.
But the Knights have won nine of their last 10 and have kept four straight shutouts in these playoffs, outscoring their opponents 30-0 this postseason.
The last four postseasons, Triad has met Chatham Glenwood in the super-sectional, however, Glenwood was beaten by Pleasant Plains in the regional final.
The last time the Knights played Springfield was in the 2019 Chatham Glenwood Super-Sectional, a game that Triad won 2-0 thanks to goals from Avery Bohnenstiehl and Jordan Wilson.
