St. Marys tops Celina

ST. MARYS - Former St. Marys boys soccer coach Dave Ring had his popcorn ready in the press box as the Roughriders took on rival Celina Monday.

St. Marys gave its former coach and the rest of the audience an offensive show.

Ethan Rose recorded his second hat trick in a row- scoring three times in the first half - as St. Marys prevailed 5-2 in the Battle of Grand Lake at Roughrider Field.

"That was the best connection we've had through the middle all season, and I'm glad we showed up tonight to do that," said first-year St. Marys head coach Josh Hertenstein, who succeeded Ring after he had spent 21 seasons on the sideline. "But we haven't done it like that all season. Must have been the rivalry. They showed up to play."

It was the second straight victory for St. Marys in the series and first win over Celina on its home field since 2008, Ring pointed out.

St. Marys improved to 9-2-1 and 5-2-0 in Western Buckeye League play. Celina fell to 2-6-2 and 0-6-0 in WBL play.

An upset looked to be brewing midway through the first half, as the Bulldogs' Jacob Hathaway scored with 21:30 off an assist by Sean Sawmiller to make it 1-0.

But Rose headed in a goal off a corner kick from Andy Vogel with 11:30 left in the first half, and the Roughriders put four more goals on the scoreboard over the next 10 minutes.

Rose assisted Max Mielke for the go-ahead goal with 7:57 still on the clock. Rose then scored twice more before the half ended, with Jordan Moore assisting on the second one.

"We came out strong," Celina coach Ryan Jenkins said. "We had a three-game stretch where we hadn't scored a goal, so it was nice to get a goal early. They just had a 3-4 minute stretch in there where they got opportunities and they finished. Other than that stretch, I was happy with how we played."

Mielke netted his second goal of the game five minutes into the second half, with Rose getting the assist.

"We hustled. We moved well off the ball," Hertenstein said. "We attacked the 50-50 balls. That makes all the difference."

Jacob Hathaway added his second goal with 23:24 remaining in the second half. Craddock Bridge assisted Hathaway on the score.

Rose upped his goal total to 15 on the season. He also added two assists.

"He's a good player," Jenkins said. "He got open opportunities and he finished. He got loose a few times, and when you let a good player loose, he makes you pay."

Correy Nelson had three saves in net for St. Marys.

Starting goalie Dalton Leiss had four saves for Celina in the first half. Andrew Puschel had three saves in the second half.

The Roughriders travel to face Defiance on Thursday. The Bulldogs host New Knoxville tonight at 6 p.m.