Clear Fork Colts, Madison Rams battle to 1-1 tie on Friday Night Futbol

BELLVILLE — It was the first meeting of the season between two Richland County programs seeking a district championship.

And, odds are, it won't be the last.

Clear Fork and Madison battled to a 1-1 tie on the opening night of the 2022 high school soccer season, known as Friday Night Futbol around the state. The Colts' Brinley Barnett started off the scoring when she cleaned up a loose ball in front of the net to put the Colts up 1-0 with 27:21 left in the first half.

The Rams responded less than 20 minutes later when Natalee Back rocketed a strike from 40 yards away to the upper 90, knotting things at 1-1 with 9:45 left in the first half. The two teams went the next 49:45 scoreless.

"I thought we played well," Madison coach Zac Huff said. "We weren't sure what to expect with not really having a true goal-scorer and there weren't a whole lot of opportunities for either team tonight. Tonight was about breaking off the rust."

The two teams knocked off plenty of rust and then some as the physicality of the game resembled a district tournament matchup. Clear Fork coach Brittany Bechtel, who played a nice mixture of youth and veteran players, saw her young freshmen grow up quickly against Madison's relentless defensive physicality.

"A lot of our incoming freshmen are very talented and play a lot of soccer, but once they get to this level they are undersized because of their youth," Bechtel said. "They have to learn how to use their bodies and adapt to the physicality of the game and use their bodies in different ways. They are used to beating people with their speed. I was happy with how they played and how the game went."

The Colts came in knowing their identity on offense with striker Kendall Windsor being the main focus. When she went down less than two minutes into the game with a knee injury — early indications were that it is believed to be an ACL injury — the Colts had to adjust on the fly. For the most part, they did that and put a goal on the board, but now it is back to the practice field to figure out a new plan of offensive attack.

"I was pleased with how we played, especially after we were kind of deflated right out of the gate when we lost Kendall," Bechtel said. "She has been a dominating force all summer, and seeing her go down took the wind out of our sails in the first half. We had to adapt and change our formation. We will now be learning to live without her up top."

The Rams were also battling some injuries. Leading defender Mylah Davis came in nursing an ankle injury that caused her to miss practice earlier in the week. She didn't start, but entered early in the game and impacted Clear Fork's offense.

"Mylah Davis is our go-to defender, and we didn't start her because she has a nagging ankle injury so we wanted to bring her on slow," Huff said. "We had some other girls step up and, overall, I think we played great."

The question coming into the season for the Rams was where would the offense come from? Without a true offensive threat who can go and get a goal at any moment, Huff hopes the offense can catch up to the defense at some point this season.

"It is a good question," Huff said. "We scored because the middle of the field was open and we had that lane all night, but we couldn't quite get in the right position to put another in the back of the net. Obviously, it is the first game of the season with Friday Night Lights and we will figure things out. We just need to get in shape."

Both teams start the year 0-0-1. Madison travels to Lima Bath on Tuesday while Clear Fork travels to Bexley on Wednesday.

But don't expect this to be the only meeting between the two district championship hopefuls. The Division II district tournament has turned into an annual Richland County final four, and 2022 should be no exception. Huff fully expected to see Clear Fork in the district tournament.

"Definitely," Huff said. "With us, Clear Fork, Lexington and Ontario, I think it is one of the best districts in the state of Ohio and it will be a good one again this year."

jfurr@gannett.com

740-244-9934

Twitter: @JakeFurr11

This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: Clear Fork, Madison draw on opening night of high school soccer