By Cort Reynolds
ADA __ The host Ada boys soccer team defeated Spencerville 3-1 in a warm non-conference match on Monday, September 16, at War Memorial Stadium.
Ada improved to 7-3 overall with the decisive victory. The former league rival Bearcats fell to 4-4-1 overall with the loss, and are 2-1 in NWC play.
“I am happy the boys are creating their own success,” said Bulldog first-year head coach Aaron Acheson. “We want to stay unified and continue getting better. I felt we took care of business tonight.
“Jude (Griffin) had a terrific game for us,” he continued. “He and Ty Mowery controlled things back there defensively.
Senior Nathan Williams scored the first Ada goal with 25 minutes left in the first half off a Logan Jolliff assist. “The curve on that ball, that was such a pretty shot,” said Acheson. “Logan is an unselfish player, he got the ball to Nathan, giving him time and space to shoot. They work well together.”
Ada took the one-goal margin to intermission.
“We talked about the first 10 minutes of the second half being important to get the game under control, and we did that,” said Acheson of his halftime message.
Sophomore Andrew Allen tallied his 14th goal of the season with 32:56 remaining off a Williams assist to put Ada ahead 2-0.
Williams then netted his second goal with 29:27 left on a Max Puerto assist to stretch the lead to 3-0.
Ada had a one-timer shot in front of the Bearcat goal with 24:11 to go, but it was saved. Griffin cleared two balls nicely with headers in the 20th minute. A Puerto header sailed wide at the 18:11 juncture.
Jacob Rush saved a one-bounce shot at the 16:06 mark. He then snagged a free kick with 15 minutes left. A Bulldog shot with 13:21 remaining curled just wide right of the net.
A Bulldog crossing pass was headed out with 11 minutes to go. Rush made a nice sliding save of a hard Bearcat shot with 7:44 left. A Bulldog shot on goal was saved at the 5:22 juncture.
With 4:37 to go, Spencerville was awarded a penalty kick. The Bearcat kicker booted it calmly into the lower right corner of the net to cut the Ada lead to 3-1.
Puerto had a shot on goal in front of the net but was saved with 3:33 left. A Bulldog shot went off the goal post with 1:02 to go. The Bearcats got off a corner kick with nine seconds left that was stymied, and their ensuing shot went over the goal.
“Our defense is doing great and we are winning balls out of the air,” Acheson said. “Ty and Jude made some really good reads on balls at their feet and with headers. Their technical skill and confidence have improved. They work really well together.
“Wyatt Fisher and Jacob Henson really controlled their outside wings and won the battles with the Spencerville attacking players,” he added. “We were very solid defensively, and did a good job containing their threats.
”I am really impressed with Wyatt’s development, his speed and technical skill development,” he added. “Evan Miller played really well again.”
Rush came up with nine saves in goal. “He was alert and had soft hands,” said Acheson.
Williams scored twice to give him seven goals and he passed out an assist to advance his team-best total to 14 helpers.
Jolliff now has five assists this year. Allen has netted 14 goals.
“We are making the extra pass, sharing the ball and becoming more creative in our attack,” said Acheson.
“I want an unselfish team that shares the ball,” he offered. “I want to attack by getting the ball outside, using the width of the field to open up runners in the middle. We are getting the ball up quicker and giving ourselves more opportunities to score.”
Ada (0-2 NCOSA) visits always-tough league foe Liberty-Benton (8-1, 2-0 NCOSA) in a key league match Thursday, Sept. 19. A JV match at 5 p.m. will precede the varsity bout.
“Liberty has a great team and a great program; it will be a tough battle,” said Acheson.
