By Cort Reynolds
This is the second in a series of Ada HS fall sports team previews. Click here for the football preview.
ADA - Energetic new Ada varsity girls soccer head coach A.J. Wahlie is optimistic his first squad can be a difficult opponent to play this fall.
The third-year Ohio Northern University law student played four seasons of college soccer at Bethany College (West Va.) and before that competed for Wapakoneta High School.
He also served as an assistant coach the past two seasons for the successful ONU women's program under coach Mark Batman. Doug Poling, who coached the Lady Bulldogs the past few seasons, is now the assistant coach.
"We were in probably 13 or 14 of our 17 matches last year," said Poling. "We just have to learn how to win the close ones and get over that mental hump."
The Lady Bulldog kickers return several starters and nine letter winners to a 16-player squad that finished 3-13-1 overall and 2-3-1 in Northwest Conference play last fall.
They will have to replace two 2019 first team All-NWC picks in graduated Ella Poling and Katie Butterfield, who set many program records during their four seasons.
"We have a lot of returning letter winners," said Wahlie. "We just want to get better every day. I plan to follow the U.S. youth soccer program plan of building character and incorporating a four-point plan that emphasizes developing the physical, mental, technical and tactical aspects of the game.
"I am really excited to mold the players and program," he added.
Senior Brenna Hissong leads the returness.
Hissong has been named first team All-NWC and at least second team All-NCOSA in each of her three seasons. She has good speed and is very skilled on defense, and is able to transition well to offense from defense.
After being primarily a defender in the past, Hissong has been moved up by Wahlie to midfielder/center back so she can have more on offense impact with her skill, size and strength.
Junior forward Blankenship is a speedy scrapper and a feisty competitor. A good scorer, Blankenship is still recovering from a severe knee injury suffered during basketball season in late December. She may not be cleared to play for soccer play until late September after undergoing surgery last winter.
She was named honorable mention All-NWC as a sophomore.
"We are excited and hopeful to have Timber back," Wahlie noted.
Three experienced letter winners - senior Kylie Shafer and juniors Hailey Robirds and Alaina Robirds - will provide the backbone of the starting defensive backline.
"Our technical ability to defend behind the ball is a strength," said Wahlie. The ability to score goals is an area of concern, he noted. "A good striker or forward is worth their weight in gold," he said. "That is some thing we have to find.
Despite being only a freshman, Karmen Hall is expected to provide much offense at striker (forward). "She is already a leader on her line," said the coach. Freshman center-back Ella Marshall is another newcomer expected to make a significant contribution.
"We are very excited about those two freshmen," Wahlie admitted.
New goalkeeper coach Mike Hall has a promising keeper pupil to work with in athletic soccer newcomer Olivia Green, who is a junior.
Junior Luci Wall is a returning letter winner at midfield and is expected to be one of Ada's better players. Her classmate Lauren Mullins also returns to start at a midfield position.
Minimizing mistakes in clusters will be a key goal. "We cannot allow back to back goals or consecutive mistakes to happen (snowball)," said Wahlie. "We need to be able to keep our composure in critical times, and to correct our mistakes."
Other letter winners back in the fold are midfielder/forwards Carmella Thompson and quick sophomore Ella Badertscher.
Junior newcomers Olivia Thomas and Carmen Mancuso, along with Kiah Hefner and Kailey Wagner, round out the varsity roster.
Wahlie noted that the key to success this season lies in mental preparation. "The returning letter winners have a bad taste in their mouths from their early tournament loss," he noted. "They have a lot of motivation from that defeat.
"We want to be the last team standing; you have to set your goals as high as possible," he added.
With the team limited in what it could do over the summer, he said the team participates in practices three days a week without scrimmages.
The team engaged in a lot of eight v. eight and nine v. nine intra-squad scrimmaging. "But it is still hard to replicate game action," he noted.
The Bulldogs tied for fourth in the NWC with Crestview at 2-3-1 in the seven-team NWC in 2019. Spencerville (16-4) won the crown at 6-0-0 and is favored to repeat again. Bluffton (10-7-1) ended up second at 5-1-0, while Allen East (10-6-1) finished 4-2-0 to come in third.
"Spencerville is the defending Northwest Conference champion and to be the best you have to beat the best," said Wahlie. Ada also plays in the rugged North Central Ohio Soccer Association, where Liberty-Benton (8-0 NCOSA) is the defending title-holder.
Blankenship scored a goal vs. the state-ranked Eagles, just the sixth one given up by L-B last regular season. It was also the only goal netted by an NCOSA foe vs. L-B.
Ada kicked off its season Aug. 22 at home vs. NCOSA foe Tiffin Columbian. The Lady Bulldogs host backyard rival Allen East in the NWC opener August 31.
Ada also entertains two-time defending NWC champ Spencerville October 5. The regular season finale is Oct. 12 at Delphos Jefferson.
With health and confidence, Ada could surpass the program record for seven wins in a season, and advance in the post-season tournament.
"Come October, I expect we will be a dangerous team," Wahlie summed up.
Ada girls soccer at a glance
2019 record: 3-13-1, 2-3-1-NWC (tied 4th of 7)
Head coach: A.J. Wahlie, 1st year
Letter winners back/lost: 9/4
Starters back/lost: 7/4
Top returnees: Sr. Brenna Hissong, Jr. Kylie Shafer,
Jr. Timber Blankenship, Jrs. Hailey and Alaina Robirds, Jr. Luci Wall, Jr. Lauren Mullins.
Key newcomers: Fr. Karmen Wall, Fr. Ella Marshall
Girls soccer team:
The Ada girls soccer team, from left, front: Ella Badertscher, Brenna Hissong, Olivia Green, Kylie Shafer, Carmella Thompson.
Row 2: Olivia Thomas, Lauren Mullins, Alaina Robirds, Hailey Robirds.
Row 3: Kiah Hefner, Ella Marshall, Karmen Hall, Timber Blankenship, Kailey Wagner.
Back: assistant coach Doug Poling, Luci Wall, head coach AJ Wahlie, Carmen Mancuso, assistant coach Mike Hall.
