Thornton's thunder forces Watkins-Granville tie for LCL girls title

GRANVILLE ― Jaylyn Thornton's left-footed blast from about 20 yards out looked to be off the mark.

Instead, it grazed the far post and settled perfectly into the corner of the net.

After Granville had controlled most of the second half and rallied to lead 3-2, the Watkins Memorial junior's lightning strike suddenly tied it 3-3 with 4:53 left, giving the visiting Warriors a 3-3 tie Thursday night and a share of the Licking County League title with the Blue Aces.

"During a break there towards the end, I told Lindsey Castillo and Jaylyn, that one of them was going to have to do something special," coach Ben Schenko said. "In warmups, I saw Jaylyn make two of the most incredible goals I've seen any of our girls get. I said to her, 'are you going to be special tonight?' She just smiled. I can't even explain the physics of that goal, but it was just beautiful."

Thornton's big score gave her a hat trick and earned the Warriors (11-2-3) a piece of their second straight league championship at 6-0-1, after they won it outright last year. She had stunned Granville, 14-1-1 and ranked third in the state in Division II, with two quick goals at the start for a 2-0 lead.

"We stayed locked in as a team, knew we could come back and didn't give up," Thornton said. "But I wasn't expecting that though."

"Jaylyn is crazy good," Granville senior defender Alysha Wallace said. "We left a little too much space down the middle there, and she took advantage."

The Blue Aces kept Castillo, Watkins' leading scorer, in check, but Thornton cashed in. Only two minutes in, she took a nice lead pass from Castillo and beat freshman goalie Sydney Lauffer for a 1-0 lead. Eight minutes later, Thornton's towering shot from about 18 yards out, straight on, settled into the back of the net, and it was 2-0.

Granville has seldom trailed, but the Blue Aces responded. Junior Ava Labocki headed in senior Ava Miller's perfectly-placed corner kick at the 27-minute mark, making it 2-1, and the host team kept the pressure on the rest of the half. It carried over into the final 40 minutes, where Granville attempted seven corner kicks, allowed only two Watkins shots on goal and was in continual attack mode.

With 21:54 left, sophomore Hope Mahl collided with Warriors' goalie Madison Skeese and a Watkins defender, but got just enough of her foot on the ball and it slowly rolled into the net, making it 2-2. And with 16:58, Mahl struck again off an assist by junior Allie Messner for a 3-2 lead. With the way the Blue Aces were dominating play, it looked to be the game winner, but Thornton and company had other ideas.

"We were a little jumpy the first 12 minutes and we got down 2-0, but we finally settled in and totally dominated them after that," Wallace said. "This team is so strong and solid."

Schenko was not surprised that Granville came back.

"It's testimony to how good of a team they are," he said. "It should benefit them in the tournament. But I told our seniors, that they haven't beaten us in two years, and not many teams can say that against them."

Blue Aces' assistant coach Zeke Hegenberger, filling in for head coach Scott Forster who was out of state attending a funeral, said his team was rushing things a little too much in the first half.

"What brought us back was the way we settled in, moved the ball and played our game," he said. "Hope Mahl is just so good in tight spaces, the way she moves her feet with the ball. Ella Hoover was absolutely huge for us (in the midfield)."

Hegenberger was impressed with all three of Thornton's goals.

"They've had a lot of success, taking shots with eight yards of space," he said. "Those were just outstanding shots."

Schenko said his team has a knack for coming up with clutch plays against the best teams.

"We beat Gahanna 3-1 and tied Olentangy, and at times we were getting dominated. Then Granville tonight," he said. "We find a way to either tie or win." The Warriors haven't lost since Aug. 30 against Bishop Watterson.

The physical game definitely put both teams in tournament mode. They both chose byes and will open on Saturday, Oct. 22. Granville is top-seeded in Division II and will host the winner of No. 8 Heath and No. 12 North Union. Watkins is 15th seeded in Division I and will host the winner of No. 18 Westerville North and No. 22 Lancaster.

"It was a big game on a big stage," Hegenberger said. "Our kids emptied the tank tonight, and Watkins did as well. Major goals are still on our radar, and we'll get back at it Monday."

"Watkins is a good Division I team, and I expect them to go far in the tournament, too," Wallace said. "We're going to bounce back. We see the potential and we still have a lot to look forward to."

dweidig@gannett.com

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This article originally appeared on Newark Advocate: Watkins Memorial girls soccer ties Granville to share LCL championship