The game went as expected and the Red Devils advanced on.

Tippecanoe had no trouble with Stivers in their opening game of the Division Three girls soccer tournament, cruising to a 9-0 victory in a game stopped at halftime due to the OHSAA mercy rule.

The Red Devils advanced to round two against league foe Vandalia Butler in a huge rematch of their conference game last week, and that rematch was held this past Monday after deadline. You can read about that game next week.

It was the final time the group of seniors at Tipp took the field at the Park, and Tipp coach Brent Palmer was excited for the easy win to allow the seniors to take their home field for the last time.

“The last four years, they have been instrumental, and it was an awesome night to honor them and all of their contributions to the program,” Palmer said.

To get to Butler, the Red Devils had to take care of Stivers, an undermanned team who had only scored two goals this season.

The scoring began just seconds into the game, as Mady Turner found the net in the box to put Tipp on the board just 25 seconds into the game.

Kendall Davis came right back 35 seconds later as she took the ball and found the net, and with at the 39:00 mark of the first half, Tipp already had a 2-0 lead.

The Red Devils scored again when Turner added her second goal of the game from Brooke Shafer to make it 3-0, then at 33:16, Shafer ripped a shot from 15 yards right past the keeper, and the Red Devils increased their lead to 4-0.

Mya Toman added to the lead when she scored at 26:27, then ten minutes later, the Red Devils drew closer to the mercy rule when Briley Barton had a score to push the Tipp lead to 6-0.

While the Red Devils’ defense and goalie combo where not tested all night, their offense continued to shine. Abbey Unger pushed the lead to 7-0 when she finished her shot at 10:27, then much to the fans delight, the Red Devils reached the eight-goal differential at 9:02 when Georgia Adkins scored.

Rounding out the scoring for Tipp was Kaylee Dennison with a goal at 8:21 and the Red Devils exited early for the win.

“Monday will be a totally different mindset we are bringing into it,” Palmer said of their rematch against Butler. “We have to up our mentality and our mindset and expect them to come out super aggressive. When seasons are on the line, different things come out.”