The Ada boys soccer team lost 8-2 at home to state-ranked Northwest Conference rival Bluffton Tuesday night, September 28, at War Memorial Stadium.
The Bulldogs dropped to 3-5-3 overall and 0-2-1 in NWC play with the defeat. The Pirates, 10th in the Div. III state rankings, improved to 8-2 and 3-0 in the NWC with the win.
The six-time defending NWC champion Pirates have won 33 league matches in a row.
Kaden Basil tallied the first goal 40 seconds into the match on a Jude Spallinger assist. Nolan Hoffman then put Bluffton ahead 2-0 on a goal at the 5:45 mark from Basil.
Hoffman then returned the favor by feeding Basil for the third goal at the 19:47 juncture. Spallinger scored unassisted at the 34:56 mark to extend the lead to 4-0.
Bryan Zimmerman made it 5-0 at intermission by scoring off a Basil assist with 4:01 left before halftime.
Ada junior Carter Conley put the hosts on the board with a goal just 36 seconds into the second half.
Spallinger scored 6:35 into the second stanza. Conley then netted another goal at the 58:09 mark to pull the Bulldogs within 6-2.
But Pirate Justin Good netted a penalty kick goal at the 56:29 juncture. Good then scored again 4:01 later on an assist from Theo Andreas to provide the final margin of six.
Bluffton put nine of its 25 shots on goal. Ada fired three of its seven shots on target.
Ada sophomore keeper Colton Long made eight saves in goal. Pirate kepper Eli Staton was credited with two stops.
Ada (1-2 NCOSA) hosts tough league foe Van Buren (7-2, 3-0 NCOSA) Thursday, Sept. 30.
