MOUNT VERNON — It was a contest for the first 20 minutes, then the roof fell in.
The Mount Vernon girls soccer team (3-4, 1-2 OCC) piled on the goals and buried the Franklin Heights Falcons on Tuesday evening. When it was over, the Yellow Jackets hammered out a 13-1 win and notched their first Ohio Capital Conference win of the season.
“It’s a good win,” said Mount Vernon coach Vit Streska. “It’s an OCC win. I know 13 goals is a lot, but it was close after the first 20 minutes — it was 2-1. The Franklin girls didn’t come here to lose. They came out strong and played hard.”
Mount Vernon sophomore goalkeeper Kenzie Crawford grabbed nine saves, only giving up the early goal. She was later relieved by Michelle Dobson, who added a save.
Much of the work was shouldered by the Mount Vernon defense who gave Franklin little chance to score. The Falcons are still rebuilding their sports program after a one-year hiatus.
“Our defense kept the ball away from our half of the field,” said Streska. “What can you say about a 13-1 game? We played our game.”
Jen Ballard was the first Yellow Jackets’ player to score. It was her first-ever score on the varsity.
“She was excited,” said Streska of Ballard. “It was a very big goal for her.”
Midway through the first half, Mount Vernon was clinging to a 2-1 lead. That was when the fireworks started.