By Greg Billing for the Dayton Daily News

Lehman Catholic's soccer team isn't content with small steps in only its second season of high school varsity soccer. The Cavaliers are shooting for bigger goals.

They got one Tuesday night with the best win in program history. Lehman upset Bethel, 3-2. The Bees (8-3) entered the game ranked No. 5 in the Miami Valley Soccer Coaches Association poll. The Cavaliers (9-3) were unranked, but hope the win vaults them back into the Division III poll.

"We knew we had a chance," said Lehman coach Ken Forror. "And our team came through in a big way. It was a wonderful team victory and good preparation for the state tournament."

Lehman's Joey Monnier scored about 10 minutes into the game on his one-on-one shot to the right corner. Monnier helped set up the Cavs' next goal when he was taken down in the box. Scott Ulrich hit the penalty kick in the right corner. Andrew Giese scored in the second half for the 3-1 lead.

"The defense came in for halftime very confident," said assistant coach Roger Toon of Nathan Stevenson, Chris Van Tress, Aaron Bauer and keeper Pat O'Connell (12 saves). "And assured the team they would make it stand up."

Bethel scored on a PK three minutes into the second half (2-1) but Giese answered four minutes later with his own PK.

"After the penalty kicks, the defense was even more determined," said Toon. "Time and time again I thought they were beat, only to see one of them outrun their forward to the ball. It was impressive."

The Cavs hope the win returns them to next week's coaches poll after reaching as high as No. 8 in the Sept. 22 poll. They'd also like to see this season serve as a catalyst to a strong postseason. Lehman lost to Springfield Catholic Central in the first round last season.

Bethel, meanwhile, has struggled of late. The Bees ran off a school-record 10 straight wins before consecutive losses to Northwestern (2-1) and now Lehman. Bethel allowed just six goals in its first nine matches, but has surrendered five in its last two.

Net gains for Tri-Village
The third-year program won its first game in school history on Sept. 29 with a 2-1 win over Tri-County North. Making the win even more special was that Tri-County North had beaten Tri-Village 13-0 earlier this season.

Troy Shuman scored Tri-Village's first goal just 30 seconds into the game. Ben Hollinger's score with 25 minutes left in the game put the Patriots up 2-0.

Direct kicks
At 10-2, Springfield Catholic Central guaranteed coach Shane Latham his 20th straight winning season. Latham (290-71-32) could reach 300 wins this season with a strong finish.

The Irish have three games remaining on their schedule (not including any potential additions) and could play seven or eight tournament games with a state finals run in D-III. Sophomore Stefan Latham scored his third straight hat trick in a 14-0 defeat of Northwestern. He also did it against Brookville and Southeastern.

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