Bulldogs out-shoot Knights 28-2
By Cort Reynolds
The Ada High School girls soccer team dominated former league foe Crestview, crafting a 3-0 win on Monday, August 19 at War Memorial Stadium.
Ada improved to 2-0 with the decisive win. The Bulldogs controlled the ball and continually peppered the busy Lady Knight keeper with shots.
Bulldog freshman Emily Shanks scored two goals to pace the talented young squad.
“We just have to find the back of the net more consistently,” said Ada head coach Doug Dewese. “Great games by Lexi Poling pushing tempo, and Emily Shanks with the strong scoring runs.
“Avary Acheson had some beautiful plays and corners,” he continued. “We also shut down any offensive attack they tried thanks to a defense by committee with all the girls I rotated in.”
Neither team could dent the net for the first 37 minutes.
Shanks then broke open the scoreless game with a nice run late in the first half. She sped into the attacking zone and blasted a shot that the keeper got a hand on while diving for it. But she couldn’t stop the blast as it deflected off her hands into the net with 3:03 left before intermission.
Senior Lexi Poling had a shot go wide right 45 seconds before the half.
Ada then completely dominated play in half two, keeping the attack on for 40 minutes.
Shanks broke away from the pack and drilled a breakaway goal from about 25 yards out into the net just 55 seconds into the second half to give Ada a 2-0 bulge.
Alex Gibson and Avary Acheson booted nice consecutive corner kicks but no goal ensued.
Acheson fed Kenley Poling with a nice lead pass but her shot was saved at the 31:47 mark. Shanks ripped a shot on goal that was deflected, and Poling’s follow rebound shot was wide with 30:11 to go.
Acheson then launched a corner kick that Lexi Poling put in from the goal doorstep for a 3-0 lead with 29:46 to play.
Acheson’s left side shot went just wide into the side netting with 26:10 left. Freshman Rose Baxter directed a shot just wide right at the 23:50 juncture.
Gibson’s direct kick from 24 yards out was saved two minutes later. Gibson kept attacking as her hard shot from 20 yards was stopped by a sliding save with 17 minutes to play.
Lexi Poling then rifled a shot off the left bar with 13:57 left. Another Gibson shot on goal was saved at the 11:30 mark. Yet another Gibson blast was saved with a nice diving stop by the busy Crestview keeper.
Ada senior Karley Wagner let fly with a shot from 27 yards out straight on that was grabbed by the keeper with 7:05 left. She followed that up with an attack, but was upended at the 5:55 point by the sliding goalie.
Wagner then got off a one-v.-one shot but it was immediately kick-blocked by a defender before it could reach the goal with 5:40 left to play. Junior Alyssa Nau then tried a one-timer off a Shanks throw-in with 5:14 remaining, but it sailed wide.
A minute later Kenley Poling crossed a great ball to sister Lexi in front of the goal, but she was called off-sides as her shot banged off the crossbar straight down to the turf.
An Acheson corner kick was headed wide out of play with 2:40 to go. A last Bulldog shot with 1:20 left was bobbled but stopped.
“We obviously can build the attack, now we just have to finish it,” said Dewese. “Being 2-0 with a young team is a great confidence-builder for the youngsters. But we have a lot of room for growth.”
Ada freshman keeper Emily Gibson made two saves.
The Bulldog team visits Ft. Jennings Thursday, then hosts tough local rival Allen East in a showdown Saturday night at 7:00 p.m.
