Top photo) AHS girls soccer team, L-R front: Emily Gibson, Karley Wagner, Lexi Poling, Jillian Allison, Alex Gibson. Row 2: Emily Shanks, Emma Lambdin, Alyssa Nau, Chloe Hunsicker, Rose Baxter, Jordyn Smith. Row 3: Reese Jordan, Callie Burgess, Kenley Poling, Aliyah Kober, Mady Freewalt, Scarlett Long. Back: head coach Doug Dewese, assistant coach Thomas Baker, Ashley Williams, Lynkin McDougle, Charliegh Entinghe, Allie Stockert, Avary Acheson, assistant coach Doug Poling, assistant coach Kori Lochard.
Below) Returning Ada girls soccer letter winners, L-R, front row: Karley
Wagner, Lexi Poling, Jillian Allison, Alex Gibson. Middle: Emma Lambdin, Alyssa Nau, Chloe Hunsicker, Reese Jordan. Back: Callie Burgess, Kenley Poling, Jordyn Smith, Allie Stockert.
By Cort Reynolds
Coming off a season where they set a program record for wins, the Ada High School varsity girls soccer team will feature a youth-oriented team under third-year head coach Doug Dewese in 2024.
The 2023-2024 Bulldog girls posted a strong 8-7-3 overall record to set a program record for single-season wins. The Bulldog kickers advanced to the sectional finals before losing to top-seeded Van Buren.
Ada finished 2-3-1 and a solid fourth in the Northwest Conference last fall. More impressively, the team went 2-2-1 in the rugged NCOSA to come in third out of six schools, believed to be the best such league finish in team history.
As a result, Bulldog head coach Doug Dewese was voted North Central Ohio Soccer Association Coach of the Year by his peers in 2023.
The Bulldog girls lose most of their offense to graduation, but an advanced and talented group of young players dot the roster to give Ada hope this year if they develop quickly.
Two record-setting scorers and six other seniors graduated from last year, but 12 promising freshmen are incoming. A full roster of 23 girls, likely the biggest in program history, will be available once a few players return from injury.
“How quickly the freshmen get up to speed is the key,” said Dewese of the 2024 campaign. “Our seniors and juniors will have to bring them up to speed. The crux of our season will be how fast they progress.
“We are going to have to fight for every win. The ability is there, but the implementation and mental toughness are keys,” he offered.
Dewese says that due to an improved youth program, the incoming young players are more ready to step in and contribute right away than in the past.
“We are going to be youthful, but the young ladies coming in have benefitted from a feeder program,” said Dewese. “They are better prepared and more ready for the physicality of high school soccer.
“We should be as competitive as last year; our goal is 10 wins,” he continued. “It could be a season where we have four wins, or 10-12 wins. It all depends how quickly we can get the freshmen up to speed. Quite a few of them are going to be contributing players.”
Twelve letter winners and five starters return from last year’s squad. The Bulldogs will operate out of a new formation this fall, employing either a 4-2-3-1 or 4-4-2 set-up.
Two sisters are the top returning offensive threats. “Lexi Poling is a team co-captain, and she and her sister Kenley Poling will be our two main scoring forwards up front,” he said.
“We have three good senior leaders back in Lexi, Karley Wagner and Jillian Allison,” added Dewese.
Ada will need some of its large freshmen group to step up and augment the attack led by Alex Gibson and the Poling sisters up front.
“We lost 78 percent of our offensive output to graduation,” Dewese admitted. “Defensively, we are sound. We have Reese Jordan, Jordyn Smith and Alex Gibson back, to go along with some talented freshmen and sophomores.”
In addition, a very promising and advanced young keeper will take over in goal for departed three-year starter Katie Sizemore.
“We have a good freshman goalkeeper in Emily Gibson,” offered Dewese. “She has played a lot of club ball and in Olympic development soccer. She is pretty talented.”
Quick senior Lexi Poling earned honorable mention all-district notice last fall after scoring 10 goals and doling out four assists. She is the team’s top returning scorer.
Poling also netted 10 goals as a sophomore in 2022, and has a good attacking mentality on offense. Sophomore sister Kenley Poling also has good quickness and a scoring mindset.
Junior center-midfielder Alex Gibson is a very skilled playmaker, possessing a strong leg with good touch and passing ability. She has fine foot skills and sees the field with good anticipatory vision. She was named honorable mention All-NCOSA last fall.
“I want to get Alex pushed up further on offense this year to make more plays,” said the coach.
Senior midfielder/defender Karley Wagner is another experienced returning letter winner. “Karley has come in this year and been a blast,” the coach noted. “She is a workhorse and is leading the freshmen.
“She can shoot from way far out, and is our go-to player to shut down an opponent in the middle of the field,” he observed.
Speedy junior defender Jordyn Smith will be employed more on offense this fall to take advantage of her exceptional mobility.
“Jordyn is starting to show some promise on offense, so she will bounce back and forth from back to front,” said the coach. “She is the fastest girl on the team, so she can transition up and down the field quickly.
“We want her to use that speed on offense more this year and see a lot more time up front,” he added.
Two-time letter winner junior Alyssa Nau and veteran Allison will serve as experienced outside midfielders.
“Alyssa is an experienced player, and we are excited to see her play outside. She should play 40-50 minutes a game,” said the coach.
Nau has also earned key experience as a keeper by filling in when Sizemore was injured. The backup keeper is freshman Maire Boulanger, with Nau listed as third on the GK depth chart.
Versatile junior returnee Emma Lambdin will play outside back or outside midfielder. Dewese called the heady Lambdin a “Swiss army knife player.”
Quick, skilled sophomore Reese Jordan and fellow soph Callie Burgess will comprise the rest of the defensive backline. Burgess is recovering from injury and should be back by late August.
Sophomore Chloe Hunsicker (MF) is another very versatile player on the roster, according to Dewese.
Skilled freshman Emily Shanks has a “really good foot and can score, and freshman Rose Baxter very, very fast,” Dewese noted. Shanks could end up being one of the team’s top offensive threats.
Freshman Lynkin McDougle can play center-back, and classmate Maddie Freewalt is another “Swiss Army knife-type player.”
An unknown wild card is talented newcomer Boulanger. The coach says she might make an immediate impact when she gets back from vacation.
Promising freshmen Avary Acheson and Ashley Williams are two other newcomers expected to play outside midfielder roles.
“The defense looks very solid,” Dewese offered. “We have a development process we are in right now. We are very freshmen-heavy.”
Injured sophomore forward Allie Stockert will also hopefully return from injury by late August.
After competing in two leagues in recent years, the Bulldogs will compete in the tough North Central Ohio Soccer Association only this fall. Ada left the Northwest Conference for the Blanchard Valley Conference, which does not sponsor soccer.
In 2023 Liberty-Benton repeated as the NCOSA champion at 5-0, followed by Van Buren (3-1-1) and Ada.
“Liberty is always a powerhouse, they just reload,” said Dewese of the favored Eagles. “Upper Sandusky will be good. I can see Ada competing for the top of NCOSA, which will be a crapshoot.
“Cory has rebuilt. Van Buren graduated a lot of talent, but is very physical. Riverdale is also an unknown.
“I think Ada can compete with Liberty if we play our best game,” he summed up. “Van Buren and Upper could also give them a run for their money.”
Bluffton again won the Northwest Conference crown, but later lost to Riverdale in the district finals.
This season, the OHSAA expanded soccer to five divisions for the 2024-25 season. “It won’t change our tournament bracket too much,” said Dewese of the expansion.
Graduated speedster Ella Marshall was named first team All-NWC/NCOSA for the fourth straight year in 2023 after scoring 22 goals. She also set the all-time program record for goals (510, and tied the Lady Bulldog season assist record last year with 13.
Marshall was also voted first team all-district for Division III. She is playing at Heidelberg this fall.
Fellow grad Olivia Burkhart also was named second team All-NCOSA and honorable mention all-district. She set the Lady Bulldog mark for career assists.
Burkhart left as the all-time assist leader in program history with 23, and co-holds the record for assists in a season of 13 set in 2022. She scored 11 goals and dished out seven assists last season.
Graduated keeper Sizemore was named honorable mention all-district and second team All-NCOSA as well. She posted a program record with four shutouts, and made 188 saves last year. She allowed 2.77 goals per match.
All three will be missed, but the 2024 Ada girls have the young talent ready to step up and fill their shoes.
In the season opener, Ada entertains Tiffin Columbian Saturday, August 17 at 5 p.m. as the opener of a girls/boys doubleheader.
On August 24, Ada hosts backyard rival Allen East as the back end of boys/girls twinbill. Speedy AE senior Rilynn Jones led the area with 44 goals last year, and was voted second team all-state.
A key NCOSA battle takes place early on, September 5 at Van Buren.
Kori Lochard rejoins the Ada staff as an assistant, along with veteran assistant Doug Poling.
As for season goals, Dewese is shooting for 10 wins again.
"If we lose, I want them to be no more than one-goal differential losses,” he noted. “We want to be competitive every game, with no blowouts. We are going to win or lose a lot of games 2-1 or 1-0 because defensively, we will be sound.”
If Ada gets some offense from their deep and talented crop of freshmen, they could be surprisingly strong.
“We have a good group of girls,” Dewese summed up. “They get along well and are a family. They hold each other accountable. The other big concern is making sure we stay healthy. The girls have worked hard on strengthening in the off-season.”
Ada girls soccer at a glance
2023 record: 8-7-3 overall; 2-2-1 NCOSA; 2-3-1 NWC
Head coach: Doug Dewese, 3rd year
Formations: 4-2-3-1 or 4-4-2
Letter winners back/lost: 12/8
Starters back/lost: 5/6
Top returnees: Sr. Lexi Poling, Sr. Karley Wagner, Sr. Jillian Allison, Jr. Jordyn Smith, Jr. Alyssa Nau, Jr. Emma Lambdin, Jr. Alex Gibson, So. Kenley Poling, So. Reese Jordan, So. Callie Burgess, So. Chloe Hunsicker, So. Allie Stockert.
Key freshmen: Emily Shanks, Emily Gibson, Maire Boulanger, Lynkin McDougle, Maddie Freewalt, Rose Baxter, Avary Acheson, Ashley Williams.
