Second-half burst carries Ottoville past L-B, 4-0.

WAPAKONETA – In a flash, Liberty-Benton went from being in the game to being in a massive hole. The Eagles went toe-to-toe with No. 8-ranked Ottoville more than 10 minutes into the second half. But once the Big Green scored on a batted ball, L-B didn't have the answer. Ottoville added two more goals just 41 seconds apart as the Eagles saw their season come to an end in a 4-0 regional semifinal loss Wednesday at Wapakoneta's Harmon Field. "I felt like we had a couple of 50-50 balls there in the back and even though it's hard to see from our vantage point, it felt like we were right there," L-B coach Aaron Troyer said. "Our defenders were right there. Maybe we had an unfortunate mistake or two and they capitalized." Liberty-Benton finished the season 13-5-3. The Eagles were 1-4-1 at one point this season before improving themselves enough to win their first district title since 2007. "In the moment, it is very difficult obviously," Troyer said. "For the boys, it is very difficult because you always look ahead to see what's next. When they reflect on what they've done, they did something we haven't done since 2007. We haven't even really challenged for one in quite some time." Neither team had many chances in the first half. Ben Jenkins for L-B and Carson Hilvers for Ottoville (20-0-1) were top-notch in goal on both sides. "We expected that," Troyer said. "They tend to sit back and try to counter and catch you off-guard a little bit. That's how they beat us the first time we played this season (1-0 on Aug. 31). We wanted to guard against that. I think we did a really nice job." Each defense limited opportunities for the other's offense too. "In the first half, defensively our shape was good," Troyer said. "Our plan worked well, but their defense did the same thing. We didn't have a lot of really good chances. We didn't get a lot of good shots off." Liberty-Benton had a prime chance just over six minutes into the second half when Garrett Nealis had a free kick at the 10-yard line. Similar to the district final when he gave the Eagles a 1-0 lead, Nealis tried to wrap it around the wall of defenders, but it was denied. Ottoville took advantage and got on the board just over 13 minutes into the second half. A shot ricocheted around a few players – including Jenkins – before freshman Nick Quartana corralled the ball at his feet and poked it in. Being down 1-0 wasn't insurmountable, but chances continued to be few for the Eagles. Instead, Quinton Schnipke scored with 18:43 to go to double Ottoville's lead. "That's just broke our backs there," Troyer said. "That's how it has been for us the last couple games. We score and get that energy. It felt like you could see the energy get sucked out of us when we gave up that first and especially the second one. Being down 2-0 is really tough against them." Ottoville's Preston Mansfield rocketed his 32nd goal of the season just 41 seconds later to give the Big Green a 3-0 lead. Liberty-Benton will lose just four seniors – Zach Peterson, Ocean Quiroga, Quinn Taylor, and Reid Thomas – from the 2023 roster. "We always feel like we have a solid program, but what we've done the last two years and especially this year is a big credit to them," Troyer said. "They've had a huge impact on our program. Those four guys have kind of been the backbone of our defense a lot of the year. They've done a terrific job of being leaders and leading the guys and keeping guys on task at all times. "It's been a great year for us. Hopefully it is the start of something as we build. Next year hopefully we can build off this and that's going to be a credit to what we did this year, especially our senior class."