Bowling Green junior midfielder Aden Kendrick (12) about to pass the ball to a teammate during a 2-1 loss to Celina at Elida Tuesday. (Drake Harlett | Sentinel-Tribune)
By Bryce Hudik
Special to the Sentinel-Tribune
ELIDA — Carson Staugler’s header in the waning minutes of the second half gave Celina the winning goal during the Bulldogs’ 2-1 victory over Bowling Green on Tuesday night in a Division III district semifinal.
“We knew this was going to be hard game and we knew they were going to be really good. Our message coming in was just play like its your last game,” said Staugler.
Bowling Green’s season ends with a 13-6 record.
“I wasn’t sure how the season would go to be honest and to get on the doorstep of a league title and district final is a positive thing,” BG coach Josh Fox said. “I appreciate the seniors who’ve helped elevate the program and get us to those moments.”
Both of Celina’s goals came at the four-minute mark of either half.
Their first goal was scored by Nelson Chapman. He received a perfect pass and sent a low dribbler past the BG keeper’s reach at 4:02.
“It was nice to get that first goal, but we knew at this point in the tournament every team is going to be tough. Offensively BG’s got some fire power and they were able to tie it up but we just kept our composure,” said Celina coach Ryan Jenkins
That was the only goal of the half.
To open the second, the Bulldogs earned a penalty kick. The almost sure-fire attempt was beamed off the crossbar, nearly finding the back of the net.
Not long after, Celina goalkeeper Brady Steinbrunner made a save and placed the ball back down to fix his shoe. A violation, this awarded the Bobcats a free kick from just outside of the box. Steinbrunner erased the mistake by making a save on the attempt.
Bowling Green finally knocked on the door at 21:15. Adin Metzger took a corner kick, sending a perfectly placed ball and Luca Brininger headed it in to knot the game at one goal apiece.
The game remained in a stalemate and with the seconds dwindling down in the half, it seemed probable the game was headed into an extra period. That’s when Landen Jones launched a throw all the way into the box and Staugler back-headed it in through a slew of BG defenders at 4:26 to give the Bulldogs the lead. This left BG with too little time to cash in with a goal of their own and Celina escaped with the victory.
“My teammate Landen Jones had the throw in, I just stuck my head out there and it fell,” said Staugler. “He’s been throwing those long balls the past couple games and it finally worked.”
Jenkins added, “They just kind of connected there, two seniors who know it could be their last night playing and tonight they didn’t want it to be their last and they got the goal to keep us going.”
Celina outdueled BG in shots, having 12 attempts with five on goal to BG’s five attempts with just three on goal. Celina also had six corner kicks to BG’s two.
Celina, now 14-4-1 will face Lima Shawnee (16-1-1) on October 26 in the district semifinals. The Bulldogs lost earlier in the season to Shawnee, 4-1, and will look to exact their revenge on Saturday.
