McClain makes history with first soccer district championship
Pictured are the 2025 Division IV SE District champion McClain Lady Tigers following their 2-1 win over the Wheelersburg Lady Pirates on Thursday, Oct. 23 at Valley High School. (Photo Courtesy of the McClain Athletic Department Facebook page).
The McClain Lady Tigers won their first-ever girls soccer district championship on Thursday evening, defeating the No. 2 seeded Wheelersburg Lady Pirates by a 2-1 score in the Division IV SE District Finals at Valley High School, advancing to the Sweet 16.
“It was our joy. I was running around. The girls were running around, we were hugging, high-fiving, and I guess when it comes to a season like that it is the peak of it because we’ve never done it in school (soccer) history — boys or girls," MHS head coch Blain Bergstrom said. "It was just pure joy, pure excitement, and the girls were happy. We aren’t done yet, and we’ll see what happens next week on Tuesday.”
The No. 3 seeded Lady Tigers won with two goals scored by junior Paisley Pryor, scoring one goal in each half, as McClain led by a 1-0 score at halftime.
“Paisley got a couple goals, and the first one she muscled her way in there, went around a girl and hit a nice shot past the goalie. In the second half, we got off to a good start where Karlee McGlone made a great play and probably the best assist she’s had in her career, a nice through ball to Paisley, and she found it in space and made another nice shot. It was a hard shot," Bergstrom said.
McClain’s win makes history for all soccer programs at MHS, as they are the first team in either boys or girls soccer to earn a district championship.
Coach Bergstrom spoke about the defense of the Lady Tigers against Wheelersburg.
“Our defense has played well all year and continued to play well. They (Wheelersburg) got off a shot 40 yards away, and it is just one of those shots that as a goalie you go back and it just goes underneath the bar, and it was just one of those things it was a shot of that girl’s life, but at the same time our defense held in and made some plays," Bergstrom said. "Leah in the back made a couple good saves and kept the score 2-1, and from there it was pure emotion.”
The Lady Tigers — who also won their first-ever Frontier Athletic Conference championship this season — improve to an overall record of 15-2-2. Wheelersburg ends their season at 14-4-0.
Next for McClain is a Division IV Regional Semifinal match On Tuesday, Oct. 28 at Jackson High School (Alumni Field) as they will face the No. 1 seeded Albany Alexander Lady Spartans.
“We have more goals ahead of us, and Alexander got us in the tournament last year, so we’d like to knock them off this time," Bergstrom said. "They are a good team, and a good program, and we’ll have to bring our ‘A game’ like we did against Wheelersburg."