By Cort Reynolds

ADA__The Ada High School boys soccer team scored late to beat visiting Hardin County rival Kenton 2-1 in a physical 309 Cup battle on Saturday, August 29.

Bulldog senior Andrew Allen broke through the Wildcat defense and scored with 11:41 remaining to net the game-winner.

Ada improved to 4-1 with the hard-fought win. It was the second Bulldog win over the Wildcats in the last three meetings, sandwiched around a tie last year.

Kenton fell to 2-2-1 after the defeat.

“It was a sweet win for our players and our program,” said happy Ada head coach Aaron Acheson. “Ada won the 309 Cup. Kenton got on the board fast.”

The Wildcats scored first early when Jose Velasquez netted a goal off a corner kick assist by Gus Wingfield just 50 seconds into the fray.

“A corner kick was played in from Gus Wingfield to Jose Velasquez, who got a foot on the ball and redirected it,” Acheson recalled. “The ball bounced off our keeper’s hands and into the net.

“We did not panic or drop our heads,” he noted. “We kept playing, and 10 minutes later, we countered with a goal from Carson Conley assisted by Andrew Allen.”

Ada tied it 1-1 when senior Conley found the back of the net off that Allen assist with 30:56 left in the first half.

With 8:11 remaining in the first half, Allen rifled a shot from about 20 yards out straight on. But Kayne Bushong made a diving save in goal for Kenton. 

A Wildcat shot at the 1:29 mark curled just wide right and was grabbed by Ada keeper Jacob Rush.

Kenton got off a corner kick with 29 seconds left but could not score.

“Both teams settled in, and it was 1-1 at halftime,” said Acheson. “We discussed some things we could do better in the second half to swing the score in our favor.

“Late in the game, we made a small tactical change that opened things up for us to take advantage of a matchup,” he continued. “That adjustment helped turn the game in our favor. Hats off to our players for trusting their coaches and executing what we asked them to do.”

Conley booted a shot off the keeper’s fingertips with 21 minutes left. Yet the ensuing corner kick went awry. An Allen shot was saved with 17 minutes to go.

With under 12 minutes left to play, Wyatt Fisher dispossessed the ball from a Kenton player. He quickly played a ball to Allen in space on the outside. Allen made a move to beat the Wildcat left back and struck a shot to the far post that settled into the goal netting to break the tie.

“That was the game-winner,” enthused Acheson.

It was Allen’s eighth goal of the season and 64^th in his career to win it unassisted.

Another Allen shot was saved at the 9:15 mark.

“Our defense stayed tough and together all night long, keeping Kenton from scoring over the final 79 minutes,” Acheson pointed out. “They settled in, communicated and did a great job marking Kenton’s attacking players.

“Daniel Klear made another game-changing play with just under 14 minutes left, clearing the ball out of the box to shut down a dangerous Kenton scoring opportunity,” the coach pointed out.

“That was another huge moment in the game,” he remarked. “Lucas Henson played a great game for us on defense. He battled and controlled his side of the field.

“Jacob was great in goal with seven saves,” he added.

Wildcat keeper Kayne Bushong made several good saves, including a corner kick header by Allen. Rush made seven stops for Ada.

Ada hosts Miller City (3-0-1, 1-0 NCOSA) on Wednesday, September 2 in the key North Central Ohio Soccer Association opener.