By Cort Reynolds

HARROD - This past Saturday, backyard rivals Ada and Allen East battled to a 1-1 tie in the girls soccer regular season finale at Ada.

On Tuesday evening at Harrod in Div. III sectional first round action, the 10th-seeded Lady Bulldogs lost 6-1 to the Mustang girls in the rematch.

Ada finishes up 4-12-1, while AE improves to 9-6-4 with the win and advances to the second round.

The Mustangs scored two first half goals in the first 10 minutes of play, and never trailed. Bulldog freshman Timber Blankenship netted the lone Ada goal to cut the deficit to 2-1.

But AE responded with a goal to take a 3-1 lead into intermission.

"We had a couple opportunities early in the second half but weren't able to score," said Ada head coach Doug Poling.

The Mustangs scored three more goals in the second half to put the game out of reach.

AE put 14 shots on goal compared to eight by Ada. McKenzie Long made eight saves in goal for the Bulldogs.

"I was pleased with the improvements we made as a team," said Poling when asked to sum up the season. "Unfortunately, our record doesn't reflect our talent. We were competitive in all NWC games, and this was noticed by the other coaches.

"The NCOSA coaches all commented as well on how much our team has improved," he added.

Ada ended up 2-5-1 at home and 2-7 on the road this season.

Sixth-seeded AE will next travel to face top seed Liberty-Benton in the second round Saturday at 2 p.m.