By Cort Reynolds
The Ada girls soccer team played visiting Otsego to a 1-1 tie through one overtime in first round sectional tournament action before darkness suspended play at approximately 7:20 p.m. Monday evening.
Ada was seeded 10th in the sectional, while Otsego was 11th. The Lady Bulldog record remains 5-10-1. The game will be resumed starting with a second 15-minute overtime at 5 p.m. Wednesday at Ada.
Makayla Callahan scored the Ada goal with an assist from Ella Poling on the unseasonably warm evening. Shannon Weihl tallied the lone Otsego goal.
Ada had several chances to net a tie-breaking goal over the final 40 minutes as they kept the pressure on the Knight defense. Freshman Katie Butterfield missed just wide left with 19:15 left in regulation play.
The Bulldogs fed a nice cross in front of the box at the 13:15 mark, but no one was there but the Otsego keeper Asmus.
At the 10:50 juncture a Knight forward fired a shot off the post and keeper Rielyn Castle out of bounds to earn a corner kick, but nothing came of it.
Ada senior Latifah Bagais then made a nice field-length run as a counter off the missed corner. Asmus came way off her line and left the goal exposed, but the Bulldog cross was not successful.
At the 8:25 mark an Ada corner kick went out of bounds off the back of the net. A long Bulldog shot made for an easy save with 4:10 to go.
Otsego then botched a diect kick attempt with 1:25 remaining to send the game to overtime.
Ada dominated the first OT, getting two shots on goal off a corner kick within the first 30 seconds of play. Callahan lofted a long shot high into the air at the 10:00 mark of OT, but it bounced off the crossbar and over the net, narrowly missing a goal.
The Knight orange and black keeper Asmus made a solid save at the 8:50 mark, and Butterfield put another shot on goal just 20 seconds later.
Asmus made a nice diving save of a crossing pass over the middle at the 4:30 point. Ada mustered one last long shot on goal as time expired, but it was easily saved by Asmus.
With darkness coming on strongly after the first OT, the game was then suspended.
Ada fired 22 shots on goal compared to just seven by Otsego. Bulldog keeper Castle was credited with six saves in goal, while the busy Asmus made 21 stops.
The Bulldogs earned eight corner kicks to four by the Knights.
The winner plays at top-seeded Liberty-Benton Oct. 22.
