By Cort Reynolds

ASHLAND__The visiting Ada High School boys soccer team lost a 1-0 heartbreaker to Ashland Crestview in their defensive Div. V sectional final tournament battle Thursday night, Oct. 22.

Ada held the high-scoring Cougars to just one goal on their home field, but could not muster enough offense to win.

The Bulldogs end their season 9-8-1 after the tough road defeat. It was the last Ada game for their eight seniors.

The Cougars improved to 13-5 with the home victory.

Ashland Crestview scored the game’s only goal on a controversial penalty kick almost midway through the first half. Neither team could score over the final 61 minutes.

“The difference came down to a judgment call by the referee in the box that resulted in a penalty kick with 21 minutes left in the first half,” explained Ada head coach Aaron Acheson of the decisive play.

“From what I saw, our defender did a great job positioning his body, staying shoulder to shoulder with the runner, and playing him straight up,” Acheson offered. “The next thing you see is the player go down hard. Unfortunately, that call put us in a difficult position early in the game.

“We just weren't able to create enough opportunities to find the goals we needed,” Acheson remarked. “I'm proud of how hard our guys fought and how they continued to compete until the final whistle.

“Crestview is a fast team that knows how to score,” he continued. “Coming into our game, they had scored 78 goals, averaging more than 4.5 goals per game. Holding them to a penalty kick as their only goal says a lot about our goalkeeper and our defense.”

Ada senior keeper Jacob Rush made 14 saves in goal.

“Late in the season, we became a difficult team to score against, and I know our guys take a lot of pride in that,” the coach noted. “We made it difficult for Crestview, and our defensive effort was something to be proud of.

“It also marked the final game for our eight seniors,” he summed up. “We will miss having them on the field and being part of our program. I'm proud of what they have contributed to Ada boys soccer, and wish each of them nothing but the best in whatever comes next!”

The Crestview Cougars advance to play top seed Mansfield Christian Oct. 27 in the district semifinals at Tiffin Columbian.