Orioles close regular season with win, advance to postseason

The Lennox High School girls’ soccer team closed out the regular season with a 4-2 victory over Vermillion on Monday, Sept. 28, after falling to West Central, 3-0, on Thursday, Sept. 24.

Against West Central, the Orioles turned in a strong defensive performance despite the loss.

“Kensi Holland, our starting goalkeeper, faced a lot of shots and made 13 saves,” said Lennox head coach Paul McVey. “Our back line did an unbelievable job limiting their opportunities.”

McVey said the Orioles showed improvement from their previous meeting with West Central.

“We definitely improved from the first time we played them and if we can create more scoring opportunities, we will definitely be able to give them or any of the top three teams a run for their money if we see them in the playoffs,” McVey said.

Lennox then finished the regular season on a high note with its 4-2 win over Vermillion.

“We had a great mentality,” McVey said. “Everyone was focused on finishing out the regular season strong and we were able to do just that.”

The Orioles received goals from Tori Gerdes, Adie McVey, Jayla DeCou and Bergan Musser. McVey and Gerdes also contributed two assists each. The four goal scorers are members of Lennox’s state champion sprint medley relay team in track.

“We are all about giving our three-sport athletes an opportunity to shine, and our girls have really taken advantage of that in soccer this year,” McVey said.

With the regular season complete, Lennox has qualified for the postseason for the first time in the program’s history. The Orioles will open postseason play in the quarterfinals on Tuesday, Oct. 6. The semifinals are scheduled for Tuesday, Oct. 13, with the state championship scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 17.

“We believe in each other and have what it takes to have a strong showing in the postseason!” McVey said.