Perrysburg’s Chase Jeansonne passes to Brayden Sniadanko in front of Findlay’s Britton Elliott. (Lee Welch | Sentinel-Tribune)
After defeating Findlay twice by a combined score of 7-0, Perrysburg boys soccer had a little more difficulty with the Trojans Saturday in a Division I district final Saturday at Bowling Green High School’s Bobcat Stadium.
However, the Yellow Jackets got the job done, downing the Trojans, 1-0, to improve to 14-3-1 and move on to the regional tournament.
“It was a fantastic game,” Perrysburg coach Dennis Jeansonne said. “It’s the third time we played a team and it’s always tough to play a team twice, let alone three times. It was a great game on both sides of the ball.
“Thought this was a very hard-fought battle and lots of credit to Findlay for coming out with a game plan and playing very well.”
Perrysburg’s goal to defeat Findlay came with 25:36 left in the first half. Dylan Motter took a set piece and served it into the box. The ball deflected off a defender and Alex Bowe before heading into the near post net.
“The ball went into the back of the net and that’s part of our strategy,” Perrysburg coach Dennis Jeansonne said. “They have a rookie goalie, and we wanted to make sure we challenged everything. Anything can happen in these late district games so we’re happy to get the win and move on.”
Perrysburg had other chances as Bowe had four other shots on goal, Brayden Sniadanko put a shot off the crossbar in the first half off a corner kick, and Brayden Heitmeyer had three shots, including a set piece late in the second half that hit the crossbar.
In addition, Ben Seuberling hit the post on a shot just after Heitmeyer’s shot hit the crossbar in the second half, so the Yellow Jackets seemed inches away from scoring. Perrysburg had 13 shots overall with seven of them on goal.
But the big hero, since nothing was finding the back of the net, was goalie Freddie Dowling, who made four saves and got the shutout, including one header that may have saved the game from going into overtime.
“My highlight of the game was definitely when the ball was coming down the field and he chipped it over to me and I was able to head it out,” Dowling said. “My defensive line played amazing. They really made my job easy.”
Jeansonne added, “I thought our defense was outstanding tonight, minimizing the number of opportunities that Findlay had. What I was most impressed with was our back line and our goalie.
“They and our midfield controlled the game tonight, keeping us on the attack for long periods and winning back possession when needed,” Jeansonne continued.
“It was just a fantastic game, not giving up any crazy opportunities, and that is what we are all about — trying to control the game and not give up anything that can be dangerous, so I thought we did a good job of at least keeping them at bay and not giving too many opportunities.”
Dowling admitted it would have made his job even easier if the Jackets could have found a way to at least get an insurance goal.
“Attacks are always going to be dirty — we didn’t get as many goals as we wanted, but I think we played well, and we are ready for the next team,” Dowling said.
Perrysburg will face Cleveland St. Ignatius in a 7 p.m. regional semifinal next Tuesday at Norwalk. St. Ignatius (11-4-2) advanced with an 8-0 victory over Mentor in a district final at North Royalton High School Saturday.
“We’re excited for that game,” Jeansonne said. “We’re looking forward to it. It’s a short turnaround and we are going after them.”
