By Cort Reynolds

ADA__The Ada High School girls soccer team made a tie-breaking goal in the 72nd minute to hold off visiting Kalida 2-1 in a chippy sectional final at War Memorial Stadium on Tuesday, October 14.

Ada junior Kenley Poling converted the clutch winning goal from in front of the net, off a right side feed by Rose Baxter. When the Kalida keeper mishandled the pass, Poling pounced on the loose ball and hit the back of the net with 8:36 remaining, breaking a 1-1 tie.

The Bulldog girls improved to 12-4-2 with the hard-fought win. Upset-minded Kalida ended its season 5-11-1 after the loss. 

The Bulldogs beat the Wildcats 2-0 on September 27, but this match was much closer.

“It was a tougher game than the girls were ready for,” said fourth-year Ada head coach Doug Dewese. “We (the coaches) warned them that tournament play was a lot tougher and Kalida would be ready to challenge us.

“We had a strong run of play for the majority of the game and played well,” he continued. “Jordyn Smith had a good game from the outside back spot, and our front line did well to create opportunities, especially Rose Baxter.

“Rose hustled all game long to try and create chances,” he noted. “We spent a lot of time in our offensive third, which allowed Kalida to compact their defense, and we had to really work hard to get shots off that were overly dangerous.”

Each team netted a goal in the first half. Poling scored the first Ada goal on a play that was started by a fine pass from junior Reese Jordan out of the defensive third.

At the 33:43 mark of the second half, a brief stoppage ensued when two players got into a shoving match.

With 29:45 left, Ada sophomore Emily Shanks rifled a 25-yard blast that the Wildcat keeper barely got a hand on at the top middle of the net and deflected out of play. Ada wasn’t able to capitalize on the ensuing corner kick.

At the 20:30 mark, an Ada shot sailed over the goal. A rolling Bulldog shot was saved with 16:37 left. About 24 seconds later, the Kalida keeper made a nice save off a right-side Ada attempt.

A corner kick led to a Bulldog shot that clanged off the left post with 13:23 to go. A right side shot by Baxter curled wide left of the goal with 11:10 remaining.

Ada senior Alex Gibson navigated her way through the defense along the right side in the end zone with some nifty footwork, then touched off a good pass. But the Bulldogs were not able to finish with 9:46 to go.

Baxter then sent a good crossing pass into the crease, and in the scrum, the keeper could not corral the ball, and Poling finished it off for the game-winner. 

A long Ada shot with 2:37 left was deflected away by the busy Wildcat keeper. Sophomore Avary Acheson took a right-side shot with 2:05 left, but it was saved.

Kalida was not able to muster any good scoring opportunities in the final minutes.

Poling scored both Ada goals.

“Glad to see Kenley back on the scoresheet and as an upperclassman, she did well by pushing in the game-winning goal,” Dewese noted. “Her first goal was unassisted, but started with a phenomenal pass from Reese Jordan.”

Ada fired 25 shots on goal, while Kalida got off six shots. Bulldog sophomore keeper Emily Gibson made six saves in goal. 

Ada finished 6-2-2 at home this season.

District semis at Bluffton on October 20

In the district semifinals, fifth seed Ada plays at local rival Bluffton (9-8-1) on Steinmetz Field, Monday, October 20.

The fourth-seeded Bluffton girls whipped seventh-seeded local foe Allen East (2-12-1) by a 7-0 count Tuesday, Oct. 14. All-NWC scoring ace Aubrey Burkholder scored three goals and passed out three assists to pace the Pirate attack.

“Bluffton will be a good challenge for us,” said Dewese. “They are fast and very experienced, and I believe they finally have the majority of their team healthy.

“We will have to be 100 percent on our game to compete,” he continued. “We have the ability, we just can’t let the little mistakes bite us as they have a few times this season.”

The Pirates won the Northwest Conference title at 6-0, but played a difficult non-league schedule as they went 2-8-1 outside NWC play. Bluffton is 5-4 at home this fall, while Ada is 6-2 on the road.

“We also will have a hostile environment to deal with since Bluffton hosts this level of (district) tournaments,” said Dewese. “So it gives them the home field advantage.

“It will all depend on which team shows up for us,” he summed up. “The hard-nosed, potent offensive team will have a good competitive game, and that is who we will need to be.”