By Cort Reynolds

ADA__The Ada High School boys soccer team played visiting power Kalida tough, but a late goal gave the Wildcats a 2-1 win in a non-league match on Tuesday, Oct. 6 at War Memorial Stadium.

It was the first Ada home contest in seven games dating back to Sept. 14. The Bulldogs fell to 7-7-1 overall with the hard-fought defeat.

Kalida improved to 10-2-2 after securing the road victory.

Wildcat senior Cody Recker broke a 1-1 tie on the winning goal with just 2:40 remaining. A long right-side throw-in led to his shot that landed in the left corner of the net.

“The game was a lot of fun, and it was good to be back home,” said Ada head coach Aaron Acheson. “I'm proud of the effort the boys put into the game. Kalida is a good team, and our boys showed a lot of fight.“

The Wildcats scored first with 31:20 left in the first half. Ada committed a foul from behind in the box, and Flynn Unverferth converted the ensuing penalty kick to make it 1-0.

Ada keeper Jacob Rush made a fine diving save of a Kalida left-side blast with 7:36 left in the first half. Two minutes later, a Wildcat shot from out front was caught by Rush.

At the 3:33 mark, Ada was able to clear out of trouble with a long ball after a few Kalida attempts in front of the net.

With 2:46 to go in the half, an Ada crossing pass went across the goal mouth right to left, but the Bulldogs could not get a head on it.

A deflected Bulldog shot caromed high into the air and bounced for a Wildcat save with 27 seconds left. Nine ticks later, a good Ada shot was saved to keep it 1-0 at the half.

Ada netted the equalizer halfway through the second stanza. Nathan Jochims played a through ball in behind the Wildcat backline to Andrew Allen in space. Allen was able to beat Kalida’s outside back and finished with his left foot across the goal to tie it, 1-1.

“It was nice to see Nathan and Andrew connect on the goal midway through the second half,” said Acheson.

A solid Kalida shot sailed wide left with 13:07 remaining to play. Kalida then curled a right-side direct kick around the Ada wall at the 11:22 mark, but Rush made another strong diving save in the left corner to deny the shot.

Yet with 2:40 to go, the Wildcats netted the game-winner off the long throw-in.

The scrambling Bulldogs had a chance to tie it in the final seconds on a long left-side throw-in by Wyatt Fisher. But after a scrum in front of the net, Kalida was able to keep Ada out of the net as time ran out.

Bulldog keeper Jacob Rush made six saves in goal. “Jacob made some great saves for us and was very decisive with his reads tonight,” the coach observed.

“We'll watch the film and continue to work on the things we need to improve on at training,” said Acheson. “I told the boys to keep their heads up. There was a lot to be proud of, and we'll continue to get better.”

UP NEXT
Ada hosts Lima Central Catholic (3-11) on Monday, Oct. 12.