by Cassie Mattia

Loveland, Ohio – Loveland High School’s Fall sports seasons have finally taken off! Although COVID-19 has made school vs. school competitions this Fall season somewhat difficult the Eastern Cincinnati Conference (ECC) and the Ohio High School Athletic Association (OHSAA) has implemented safety protocols that have allowed high school student-athletes to have the sports seasons they have been dying to have! 

Last week in LHS sports proved to be quite the success as several Tiger squads had victories! Here’s the Loveland Sports 411 for the week of September 7th-13th as well as what competitions you should expect for this week in the LHS sports world!

FOOTBALL

The LHS Football team was supposed to have the ultimate rivalry game at Milford on Friday, September 11th, but unfortunately, the game had to be canceled due to a positive COVID-19 test involving a Milford Football player. The schools are working on rescheduling the contest.

Currently, the LHS Football team is sitting at 0-2, with losses against Turpin and West Clermont. The Tigers are looking to grab their first win at home against Little Miami on Friday, September 18th.

VOLLEYBALL

The LHS Women’s Volleyball team is sitting right in the middle of the pack in the ECC with a 4-4 overall record (2-3 in the ECC). On Tuesday, September 8th the Tigers traveled to Turpin. While Loveland battled hard, they ended up losing 25-23, 25-12, winning 22-25,  and losing the final game 25-15. 

On Wednesday, September 9th Loveland played at home against Lebanon. The Tigers played 3 games losing 25-14, 25-8, and 25-17. On Saturday, September 12th the Lady Tigers came back with a vengeance facing one of the best teams in the GMC, Lakota West, at home. The Tigers played 5 games losing the 1st and 2nd games 23-25, and 20-25.  Loveland than collected 2 wins in the 3rd and 4th games, 25-22, and 25-24. Unfortunately, the Tigers lost in a very close 5th game, 15-13. 

The LHS Women’s Volleyball team will be back in action this week on Monday, September 14th at home against Little Miami at 6:30 p.m, Tuesday, September 15th at Anderson at 6:30 p.m, and at home against Kings at 6:30 p.m.

MEN’S SOCCER

The Loveland Men’s Soccer team played at Milford on Thursday, September 10th. The Tigers ended up losing 2-1 in a close battle. The Tigers are sitting at 3 wins, 1 loss, and 1 tie (1-1-0 in the ECC) thus far for the 2020 Fall season.

The Men’s Soccer Team this week will be hosting Little Miami on Tuesday, September 15th at 7 p.m.

WOMEN’S SOCCER

The Loveland Women’s Soccer team has kicked off the 2020 season with a bang sitting at 1st place in the ECC with a 5-0-0 record overall (2-0-0 in the ECC). On Tuesday, September 8th they played Milford at home collecting a 3-0 win! Ryann Eversole, Brooke Hatfield, and Shraya Smolenski all had a goal in the big Tiger win.

On Saturday, September 12th the Lady Tigers faced Sycamore at home, in which they grabbed another win, 2-1. Leiah Goedde and Brooke Hatfield both had a goal for the Tigers. 

This week the Loveland Women’s Soccer team will play 3 games, 1 on Tuesday, September 15th at Little Miami at 7 p.m, another on Thursday, September 17th at home against Kings at 7 p.m, and on Saturday, September 19th at Mason at 5 p.m.

MEN’S CROSS COUNTRY

The Loveland Men’s Cross Country team has had quite the successful season thus far clocking times at the top of the ECC! On Saturday, September 12th the Tigers traveled to Corwin Nixon Park for the Mason Invitational. Loveland finished in 4th place as a team with 116 points. Ryan Chevalier took the gold for the entire invitational finishing in 1st place with a time of 16:14.8. Ajay Stutz was next finishing in 16th place with a time of 17:15.5, followed by Sam Neiger in 22nd place with a time of 17:42.5, then Caden Dyer in 38th place with a time of 18:00.4. The next finisher was Colin Beran in 59th place with a time of 18:31.1, followed by Grant Hanson in 66th place with a time of 18:40.1, then Alex Salatin in 71st place with a time of 18:44.7, and Zach Mays in 79th place with a time of 18:52.1. Rounding out the Tigers was Alex Saletta in 86th place with a time of 18:56.4. 

Junior Ryan Chevalier’s 1st place performance out of 381 runners at the Mason Invitational gained him an ECC Athlete of the Week Nomination! Chevalier is currently sitting in 2nd place in the ECC with a time of 16:06, in which he ran at the Loveland Invitational on Saturday, September 5th.

The Men’s Cross Country team will compete again Saturday, September 26th at the Saturday Night Lights Meet at Centerville High school.

Read here about the Loveland Invitational that was held on September 5th.

WOMEN’S CROSS COUNTRY

The Loveland Women’s Cross Country team is running off the ECC competition this 2020 Fall season with their unbelievable 5k times! The Tigers competed in the Mason Invitational on Saturday, September 12th at Corwin Nixon Park finishing in 2nd place out of 15 teams with 87 points.

The top finisher for Loveland was Sarah Madix clocking a 2nd place finish with a time of 19:32.6. Ellie Carr finished next in 18th place with a time of 20:43.4, followed by Sophia Huff in 20th place with a time of 20.50.1, and next in 25th place was Ally Colegate with a time of 20:58.4. The next finisher for the Tigers was Ansley Richards in 27th place with a time of 21:01.5, followed by Maaike Snider in 29th place with a time of 21:07.9, and Audrey O’Keefe in 34th place with a time of 21:14.5. Other finishers for the Lady Tigers were Lauren Gard with a time of 21:27.3 and Meghan Tibbs with a time of 21:34.3.

Junior Sarah Madix was the 2nd Loveland Tiger this week to be nominated for the ECC Athlete of the Week for her performance at the Mason Invitational. Madix not only had the 2nd fastest time out of 347 runners she was also 1 out of only 4 girls to break 20 minutes on the new Mason 5k course.

Currently, in the ECC several Lady Tigers are sitting in the top 10 for their Loveland Invitational 5k times. Emily Sager is in 2nd place with a time of 18:53.5, Sarah Madix is sitting in 4th place with a time of 19:18.2, and Ellie Carr is in 7th place with a time of 20:04.03.

The Loveland Women’s Cross Country team will be competing again on Saturday, September 26th at the Saturday Night Lights Meet at Centerville High School.

Read here about the Loveland Invitational that was held on September 5th.

MEN’S GOLF

The Loveland Men’s Golf team has been having a great season as they are sitting at the top of the ECC with a 7-0 record overall (6-0 in the ECC)! On Tuesday, September 8th the Tigers beat Anderson 159-160 at Legendary Golf Course. Over the weekend Loveland competed twice, traveling to Heatherwoode Golf Course on Saturday, September 12th, and to Glenview Golf Course for the Hadley Invitational on Sunday, September 13th. The results for both competitions have yet to be posted on the ECC website.

Several Tigers are in the top 10 in the ECC for their golf performances! Tyler Vallee is in 2nd place with a 38.36 average, Anthony Moran is in 4th place with a 38.63 average, Joe Jankowski is in 5th place with a 39.09 average, and Matthew Geist is in 9th place with a 40 average.

The Men’s Golf team will be competing again on Monday, September 14th at Miami Valley Golf Course for the Alter Invitational and on Tuesday, September 15th at Shaker Run Golf Course against Lebanon at 3:30 p.m.

WOMEN’S GOLF

The Women’s Golf team, currently 1-4 in the ECC, competed at Harmon Golf Course against Lebanon on Wednesday, September 9th. The Tigers lost 212 to 191. 

This week the Loveland Women’s Golf team will be traveling to Eagles Nest Golf Course to face Little Miami at 3:24 p.m and then will be heading to Walden Ponds for the ECC Tournament on Thursday, September 17th at 8 a.m.

WOMEN’S TENNIS

The Women’s Tennis Team is in 4th place in the ECC with a 10-2 overall record (3-2 in the ECC)! Loveland took on the Mason B Team on Wednesday, September 9th gaining another win, 4-1. Since collecting the Mason win, the Lady Tigers are ranked at the top of the ECC in Singles and Doubles. Maira Hodar is in 4th place in First Singles with a 6-6 overall record (2-3 in the ECC), while Grace Haught is in 6th place in Second Singles with a 9-3 overall record (3-2 in the ECC). Tess Broermann and Hanna Wenger are in 1st place in the ECC in First Doubles with an 11-0 overall record (5-0 in the ECC), while Jenna Batsch and Babs Dwyer are in 1st place in the ECC for Second Doubles with an 11-0 overall record (4-0 in the ECC).

The Loveland Women’s Tennis Team will be playing 3 times this week! On Monday, September 14th Loveland will be competing against Indian Hill at 4 p.m, then on Tuesday, September 15th at Lebanon at 4 p.m, and on Wednesday, September 16th against St.Ursula at 4 p.m.

Stay tuned for more of the Loveland Sports 411 With Me, Cassie Mattia!