By Cort Reynolds
ADA - The Ada High School boys soccer team scored early in bunches to dominate visiting Lima Central Catholic 11-0 on “Kicking it for Cancer Night” Monday, October 7, at War Memorial Stadium.
Senior ace Logan Jolliff tallied a first-half hat trick to lead a balanced scoring attack as seven Bulldogs netted goals.
Ada improved to 12-4 overall after the one-sided victory.
Lima Central Catholic dropped to 1-13 with the defeat.
The Bulldogs scored three early goals, raced to an 8-0 halftime lead and cruised to victory.
“I like seeing us moving the ball well,” said Bulldog first-year head coach Aaron Acheson. “We have a lot of guys with speed, and we got them the ball in space. We want to play possessions with purpose, get the ball out and up the field quickly.
”Our focus is on playing hard with good fundamentals, and continuing to improve game-to-game,” he continued. “We want to think the game and focus on the big picture.
“Our starting 11 took care of business, and that gave our younger players the opportunity to play a lot of minutes in the second half,” he added.
Senior Nathan Williams scored the first goal on an assist from Jolliff with 28 minutes left in the first half.
“That first goal injected us with energy, and then it went to five goals real fast,” said the coach.
Sophomore Andrew Allen then tallied off an Evan Miller assist a minute later.
Jolliff then scored right afterward from senior classmate Williams to make it 3-0.
Jolliff sped up the left side and ripped a shot into the left corner of the net with 25:12 left in the opening half to score his 26th goal of the season. He was again assisted by Williams to make it 4-0.
At the 21:15 mark, Ada keeper Jacob Rush made a diving save off a right side shot by the Thunderbirds.
Jolliff made a good move and fired away with 19:59 left, but it was saved.
Fifty-two seconds later, Jolliff received a nice pass from Williams and netted a shot from the out front on the left side to make it 5-0. The score capped a nine-minute, five-goal spurt with 19:07 left before intermission.
Rush saved a low, one-bounce shot at the 17:41 juncture. A high Ada shot was bobbled but gloved for a save with 12:23 left.
Sophomore Allen then blasted a left-footed shot past the beleaguered keeper to stretch the lead to 6-0 at the 12:02 mark.
An Ada shot went narrowly wide right with 2:45 left in the half. Chase Jarrett then tallied his first goal of the season with 1:52 left from 10 yards out. Carson Conley fed him the helping ball.
Sophomore Conley lifted an 18-yard shot over the LCC goalie with just seven ticks remaining in the half to extend the margin to 8-0.
Joshua Thaxton crossed a great ball to freshman Will Mosler, who converted a very nice header that went into the net with 36:17 to play to make it 9-0.
“That was a beautiful play and pass,” said Acheson.
A rolling shot on goal by LCC was stopped by Rush’s foot at the 22:37 mark.
Bulldog Tim Chrissobolis got off a good shot with 21:25 remaining, but it sailed wide right.
At the 20:19 mark, Jarrett took a pass from Chrissobolis and lofted a left side shot from about 14 yards out over the keeper to balloon the lead to 10-0.
An Ada shot went over the goal at the 17:57 juncture. Rush then dove on a loose ball right of the net with 16:26 to go.
A the 14-minute mark, freshman Lucas Henson netted his first goal of the season to make it 11-0. Conley assisted on the play.
Rush saved a rolling shot with 10:45 left. Conley’s right-side blast was stopped by a diving T-Bird keeper.
LCC got off a nice header via a long side throw-in, but Rush grabbed it to stop the last scoring opportunity.
“We had seven guys score tonight, and that is exciting,” said Acheson. Ten Bulldog tallied points.
Jolliff did not play in half two after scoring three early goals to give him 26. He also passed out one assist to give him eight on the season.
Allen tallied his 19th and 20th goals of the season.
Bulldog senior Nathan Williams extended his program record for assists in a season to 25 with three helpers.
Jarrett tallied two goals. Conley scored a goal and doled out two assists. Miller added one assist. Chrissobolis and Thaxton each had one assist.
Ada goalkeeper Rush made five saves. The LCC keeper was credited with 10 saves.
The Bulldogs fired 21 shots on goal.
“Our passing and touch is getting better,” said Acheson. “We are making the extra pass.”
The Bulldog reserves lost 4-1 to Calvary Christian in the nightcap.
The Ada boys soccer Senior Night will be Thursday, Oct. 10 vs. former league foe Lincolnview (4-9-2, 1-2-1 NWC). The varsity will play the Lancers at 5 p.m., followed by a JV game vs. Arlington at 7 p.m.
Five Bulldog seniors will be recognized at 4:30 prior to the varsity match.
The Ada/Allen East first round tournament game is Saturday, Oct. 19 at noon.
