By Cort Reynolds

ADA__The Ada High School boys soccer team defeated visiting Lima Temple Christian 5-1 on a wet Senior Night under the lights of War Memorial Stadium on Monday, September 22.

The Bulldogs led 1-0 at half but poured in four inspired second half goals to win going away.

Ada improved its record to 7-3-2 with the non-league win.  

LTC fell to 4-6-2 after the contentious defeat.

“What a special night, our seniors–Evan, Jacob, Joshua and Jude–led the way with inspired soccer and the rest of the team followed their example,” said Ada second-year head coach Aaron Acheson.  

“The energy, effort and class on display made this a Senior Night to remember,” he continued. “It was especially meaningful to see Jude Griffin play the entire game at center-back, anchoring our defense with strength and poise.

”Senior combinations played a key role in the match, contributing to three of our five goals,” he emphasized.

Junior Carson Conley scored a goal and passed out one assist for Ada.

Bulldog senior Joshua Thaxton netted a goal. Ada juniors Tim Chrissobolis, Wyatt Fisher and Andrew Allen tallied one goal apiece. 

Seniors Jacob Henson and Evan Miller doled out one assist each.

Conley passed to Thaxton to set up the first Ada goal with 26:46 left in the first half. “Joshua opened the scoring with a composed finish,” said Acheson.

The Bulldogs earned a left side free kick from about 28 yards out with 11:37 left in the half, but an Ada header off the curling boot bounced just wide right of the goal. 

The score remained 1-0 at intermission after a gutty save by Ada.

“One of the defining moments of the game came in the final seconds of the first half,” Acheson recalled. “Daniel Klear made an incredible, selfless, goal-saving play by clearing the ball off the line just before colliding with the goal post.

“While the impact briefly took him out of the game, his effort did not go unnoticed,” he continued. “Some unsportsmanlike comments from the opposing side following the incident lit a fire in our players. They responded the right way, dedicating the second half to Daniel and scoring four unanswered goals.”

Chrissobolis scored an unassisted goal with 34:19 remaining in the match to double the Ada lead to 2-0.

Henson then assisted on Conley’s score at the 32:26 mark to extend the margin to 3-0. “Jacob Henson delivered a beautifully-played long ball in behind the back line to set up Carson for a goal of his own,” said the coach.

Fisher then found the back of the net unassisted with 30:50 to go, putting the game virtually out of reach at 4-0.

Temple cut the deficit to 4-1 when they scored on a deflection off a direct kick with 25 minutes left.

Allen tallied the last Ada goal off a Miller pass at the 20:15 juncture to provide the final margin of victory.

“Evan found Andrew with a great pass, and Andrew buried it to cap off another senior connection,” Acheson noted.

The Bulldogs dominated the second half, 4-1.

“We controlled the response tonight and got the outcome we wanted with class and focus,” said the Bulldog coach. “From a coaching standpoint, I was very pleased with how we moved the ball.

”Our passing looked sharp, our first touches were improved and most importantly, we played as a team,” he added. “Five different players found the back of the net, which is always a great sign of team-oriented soccer.”

Ada fired 16 shots on goal compared to nine by the Pioneers. Bulldog keeper Jacob Rush made eight saves in goal.  

“I am proud of the way we played–for each other, for our seniors and for Daniel,” noted Acheson. Klear is all right but in concussion protocol for likely a week or so, the coach reported. 

The Bulldogs (1-2 NCOSA) resume play at league foe Upper Sandusky (6-5, 2-1 NCOSA) on Thursday, Sept. 25.