By Cort Reynolds
ADA - The Ada boys soccer team blanked visiting Tontogany Otsego 4-0 in a Div. III sectional semifinal match Wednesday evening at the park.
The victory upped the Bulldog record to 9-8. Otsego fell to 0-16 with the defeat.
Bulldog senior Ian Dellifield scored two goals to pace the victorious offense.
Senior Jacob Poling tallied his 33rd goal and dished out a pair of assists. Sophomore Carter Conley also netted one goal and passed out two assists.
Sophomore keeper Grant Preston also was credited five stops as he and the defense recorded the shutout win.
Next up, the fourth-seeded Bulldog boys host ninth-seeded Mansfield Christian Saturday, October 24 at 3 p.m.
"We can't wait to play them," said veteran Bulldog head coach Jason Okuly. "We have struggled with them in the past, and are hoping to change that this year."
Mansfield Christian won the Div. III state title in 2014, and made their 10th regional showing as recently as 2017. MC was also the state runner-up in 2013, and has made five Ohio state Final Four appearances.
But the Flames have dropped off this season to a sub-.500 record. Still, the program has a championship pedigree and can't be taken lightly.
The Ada/MC winner will almost certainly face top seed Bluffton (14-0-2) Wednesday, October 28 at Tiffin Columbian High School at 5 p.m. in the district semifinals.
The Pirates host eighth seed Elmore Woodmore Oct. 24, who defeated Old Fort 5-0 in their first round match. As the number one seed, Bluffton received a first round bye.
Northwest Conference champion Bluffton is the defending Div. III state runner-up. They defeated visiting Ada 7-0 on September 28 to deal the Bulldogs their lone NWC loss.
