For the fist time in 12 years, the Merrill girls soccer team won a playoff game. The Jays hosted Antigo on Tuesday, May 28, topping the Red Robins 3-0.
The Jays run came to an end on Saturday, falling 4-0 to Rhinelander in the regional final.
“Always sad when the season ends,” said Merrill head coach Kyle Hahn. “I’ll be the first to say the scoreline doesn’t paint the whole picture. For most of the game we were right there, holding our own and generating some good attacking looks. I’d say possession-wise it was close to 50-50, if not tilted in our favor. The girls worked hard throughout, but a couple unlucky goals on either side of halftime seemed to give Rhinelander the confidence they needed to finish the game out,”
The Jays were out-shot 19-5 in the game, with Merrill’s goalie Kaylee Bowe saving 15 shots. “Kaylee Bowe finished out her high school career with some great saves,” added Hahn. “Ally Tabor was solid in central defense, per usual, and Journey Smith gave us a good attacking looks up top all game long. For these three and the rest of our senior class, I wish we could’ve pulled it out and kept going. They’ve been fantastic athletes and have grown into excellent leaders in their own right. They, along with the rest of the girls, put in a lot of work this year and found success in a variety of ways,”
Despite the season ending earlier than he wanted, coach Hahn was very pleased with how his team played this season.
“Earning a 4-seed and hosting a home playoff game for the first time in program history, as well as winning our first playoff game in 12 years, I couldn’t be prouder of this group.”