“We told them from the first day that we needed to turn the page on the program,” Wolkoff said. “They needed to leave their own legacy and the seniors have done that. We have gone from three wins to nine this year.”
And a trip through the postseason that ended with a 3-0 loss to third-ranked Mason in a Division I sectional final Monday night at Lakota East.
“We missed our opportunities against the best team in the state,” Wolkoff said. “It came down to them finishing their chances, and we didn’t.”
The Big Blue had chances to break a scoreless tie early in the second half, the first coming when three players had whacks at a loose ball in the crease off a corner kick, the second five minutes later when a header was just tipped away and the rebound saved.
“Those saves were huge, because whoever scored first was going to establish momentum,” Mason coach Paul Reedy said. “At tournament time, you never want to be behind if you can help it.”
The Comets (14-0-3) scored on an own goal off a corner to break the scoreless tie at the 23:02 mark of the second half before adding goals by Nick Krueger and Max Mitchell. Mason outshot Hamilton 9-6 in the second half.
“I think the first goal gave us confidence and maybe put some doubt in them,” Reedy said. “The second goal changed the game because they had to change their alignment and we could look for counters.”
The first half resembled a classic heavyweight boxing match with both teams getting their legs and taking shots without taking much risk.
Both defenses tried feeding long passes to create scoring opportunities, but neither team got real clear looks at goal.
“We wanted to get settled into the game,” Wolkoff said. “We had a couple chances but couldn’t finish, and that is really the story of the night.”
Hamilton keeper Logan Denholm had a lot to do with the fact that the two teams entered the break knotted at zero.
Denholm made a leaping save off a header by Noot Basher with 22:40 gone and another save off a direct kick as Mason outshot HHS 3-0 in the first 40 minutes.
“Logan is our third-string goalie and hasn’t played there in two years, but he stepped up the last six games and took it on,” Wolkoff said. “I commend him for everything he gave to the program. It is really incredible.”
While the Big Blue didn’t have any shots, they did have opportunities.
Hamilton (9-6-4) had chances with three set pieces off corner kicks, but was unable to get a solid shot on goal.
The Comets advance to play Centerville in a district title match Thursday night at Bellbrook.
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