ASHTABULA—Conneaut rode Theo Reichel’s hat trick to a 4-0 win over host Edgewood in its postseason opener on Tuesday.
Reichel drilled two first-half goals before capping off the hat-trick in the second half in his postseason debut.
“I’ve never had a postseason game, and the three goals were important for the team,” he said with a bloody nose. “(The goals) gave us safety and security.”
Reichel opened the scoring in the third minute, which helped the Spartans take early control of the momentum.
“It was important, it set the tone of the game,” said Conneaut coach Jim Campbell. “I think it took the air out of (Edgewood’s) sails right away. It picked our guys up, and we played hard all night.”
Cohen Webb made it 2-0 in the 18th minute and Reichel pushed the lead to 3-0 two minutes after that.
In the 73rd minute, Nico Dickey’s shot ricocheted off the crossbar right to Reichel, who buried the deflected ball into the back of the net.
Conneaut’s offense hit its stride thanks to the play of the Spartan midfielders and defenders, who made life tough on Edgewood and prevented the Warriors from developing any offensive rhythm.
“Our midfield played an awesome game by keeping the ball on our half,” Campbell said. “We didn’t let (Edgewood) get good opportunities and setups. They got a few good shots on us, but other than that, we controlled the pace of the game.”
The two sides faced off twice in the regular season, competing in the Chagrin Valley Conference Lake Division. They split the season series and set up a rubber match for all the marbles.
“Once we found out who we drew for the tournament, our boys were really excited about that,” Campbell said. “Having a shot to win a game, coming off of beating them, we had the confidence going into this game knowing they could win.”
Conneaut lives to fight another day, with a tough test coming in the sectional final at Orville on Saturday.
“We’re going to have to play the best game of the season,” Campbell said of what it’d take for an upset. “For a lot of these kids, it’s going to be the best game they’ve ever played in order to win. We’re going to have to do something extraordinary to win on Saturday night, but I’m happy for these guys. They’re excited to move on.”
Edgewood finished its 2024 campaign with a 7-11 record.
The Warriors fell behind the eight-ball early on and never recovered.
“It’s tough. I feel like that’s been our calling card year, which is giving up goals early,” said Edgewood head coach Caleb Merendino. “For some reason, we can’t find a way to battle out of them sometimes. It’s just something for us to improve on, and Conneaut played well tonight. They played their heart out more than we did, and I wish them luck at Orrville on Saturday.”
Edgewood will graduate two seniors–Aidan Kachersky and Logan Randolph—but will return 11 juniors next season.
“It’s been great having Logan and Aidan with us the whole time,” Merendino said of his seniors. “They were the first group when I got here four years ago. I’ve seen them grow the whole way. They were the backbone of this team. We lived and died by if they played well. It’s going to be hard to replace them, but I’m hopeful for next year. We have an exciting core coming up and a big senior class, so I’m excited.”
