By Cort Reynolds

VAN WERT__The visiting Ada High School boys soccer team scored early and late to defeat non-league rival Lincolnview 5-2 on Thursday night, October 9.

Ada built a 3-0 lead, then had to stave off a second-half Lancer rally by scoring two late goals to post the win.

The Bulldogs finished the regular season 11-4-2 with the victory. The Lancers fell to 3-11-1 after the defeat.

“It was another hard-fought battle on the road,” said Bulldog second-year head coach Aaron Acheson. “While we didn’t play our best overall, we managed to put in five goals and secure a three-goal differential victory by giving it our all until the very end.  

“I am proud of the guys for finishing strong,” Acheson said. “We had four players get on the scoresheet, and another four with assists. Lincolnview definitely showed some fight and posed a threat with their speed up top, making them dangerous throughout the game.

”But our guys stayed resilient, and that is what got us the win – team win number 11 on the season,” he added.

Junior Andrew Allen scored off an assist by classmate Carson Conley just 4:23 into the game to give Ada a 1-0 lead. 

Senior Evan Miller then fed sophomore Lucas Henson for a goal at the 14:48 mark to put the Bulldogs ahead 2-0 at halftime.

The teams combined for five second-half goals, three by Ada. Allen tallied an unassisted goal with 27:56 left to build a 3-0 margin.

But Lincolnview netted consecutive goals at the 27-minute mark and with 20:56 remaining, respectively, to edge within 3-2.

Ada senior Joshua Thaxton then lofted a corner kick that Conley headed inside the back post to provide a 4-2 lead with just 2:44 remaining. “That was a beautiful corner by Joshua,” said the coach.

Thaxton then put the game out of reach by tallying a goal with 1:38 left on an assist from junior Tim Chrissobolis.

“A special shout-out to Jacob Henson, who went the full 80 minutes at left back,” said Acheson. “He was a calming presence during some tough moments, and really helped stabilize is when things got hectic.”

Ada junior keeper Jacob Rush made five saves in goal.

“Now we turn the page to the second season – tournament time,” said Acheson.

Ada may play the Lancers again soon in the tournament. The Bulldogs will host a sectional final match on Saturday, Oct. 18 vs. the winner between Riverdale (3-13) and Lincolnview.

If Ada wins its sectional match, they would advance to the Elida district semifinals on Tuesday, Oct. 21 at 7 p.m. against the Ft. Jennings (8-5-4)/Spencerville (1-11-2) winner.
Ada beat Spencerville 4-0 on Sept. 6, and edged Ft. Jennings 1-0 two days later on the road.