The Daily Standard
Story Archive
Celina's Austin Loughridge (8) battles Shawnee's Noah Scheid for control of the ball during Monday's Division II boys soccer district semifinal at Elida. The Bulldogs defeated the Indians 1-0 to advance to the district final on Thursday.
ELIDA - The Battle of Grand Lake will get a rematch on Thursday night.
Celina and St. Marys picked up big wins in their Division II boys soccer district semifinals on Monday at Elida to set up a rematch of Celina's 3-0 win on Aug. 31.
The Bulldogs got a Nelson Chapman goal with just under 19 minutes remaining in regulation to defeat defending state champion Shawnee 1-0 in the nightcap semifinal.
In the opener, St. Marys scored three goals in the final 29 minutes of the match, rallying from a 1-0 halftime deficit to beat Elida 3-1.
The district final will take place at the Elida Athletic Complex at 6 p.m. on Thursday for a berth to the regionals.
"We played them in our first league game. A long time ago," said Celina coach Ryan Jenkins, whose squad improves to 18-1-0. "Both teams have made a lot of changes. We expect a very competitive match on Thursday night."
Celina's Caleb Stephenson (19) sprints past Shawnee's Hunter Drury.
The Indians won the regular season meeting 2-1 in Allen County, Celina's only loss.
The Bulldogs were ready for the rematch with a potent defense that prevented Shawnee from getting any decent looks at the goal. The Indians were held to just two shots on goal and two corner kicks all night. Celina keeper Brady Steinbrunner made two saves.
Shawnee, which allowed just three goals in the month of October and 10 all season, also played tough in the physical contest. Celina had just two shots on goal in the first half as the teams played 40 minutes of scoreless soccer.
"Defense played really well," said Jenkins. "Offense played well enough to get us a goal, and that's all we needed tonight."
The first 20 minutes of the second half played like the first half, with the defenses leading the way.
With the clock counting down to 19 minutes to play, Celina caught the break it needed. Zach Greber crossed a pass into the goal area, and Jake Knapke got enough of his foot on the ball to deflect it to Nelson Chapman, who got the ball past Shawnee keeper Drew Neidemire with 18:58 remaining in regulation to put Celina in front.
"It was one of those where the guys didn't give up on the play," said Jenkins. "They were able to finish off the goal."
The Bulldogs couldn't start to celebrate, as Shawnee had plenty of time to tally an equalizer. Celina hung tough and had a big chance to add insurance with five minutes to play as Greber had a square-on shot in the goal box, but the kick went over the cross bar.
Play was physical all night, with several yellow cards - and one red - issued. Shawnee (11-2-3) had to play the final minutes a man down after a player was sent off with his second yellow.
"It was a good, physical, competitive WBL match," said Jenkins. "You wouldn't expect it any other way. It was similar to the first time we played them. Fortunately, we were able to come out on top.
"We played a great game from top to bottom. We talked about, some guys played 80 minutes and others played five minutes. Even the bench was very supportive of the guys on the field. It was a great team win."
St. Marys' Cody Birt (1) tries to keep the ball away from Elida's Aiden Crites.
The Roughriders (17-2-1) won the regular season meeting 6-1, but the Bulldogs, technically the visitors on their home field, were up for a fight, holding St. Marys to one shot on goal in the first half.
Elida (11-6-1) drew first blood late in the first half as Eben Jackson got the ball near midfield and got ahead of the St. Marys defense. Keeper Cayden Ballweg initially slipped, and though Jackson momentarily lost the ball, he regained control and scoring with 7:04 to play in the half.
"Elida took three shots all night, but they were very good shots," said St. Marys coach James Holtzapple. "(Ballweg) really stepped up, and our defense did a phenomenal job, like they've been doing all year."
The first 10 minutes of the second half continued to be a battle. The match was physical and at times testy, as the referee showed yellow cards to both sides.
"We had to make adjustments at halftime," said coach Holtzapple. "Obviously, (Elida's) a good team."
The adjustments finally paid off when Vincent Holtzapple was able to break free and put one past Elida keeper Isaac Jones with 29:45 remaining in regulation to level the match.
St. Marys' Will Ross (24) jumps to avoid an Elida player during the Division II district semifinal at Elida.
It took 19 minutes for St. Marys to get the go-ahead goal when Will Menker scored with 10:05 remaining. A big insurance goal came with 4 1/2 minutes to play when Will Ross fired a shot into the back of the net to make it 3-1.
"This is tournament, so every team doesn't want to be done," said coach Holtzapple. "(Elida) came to play, so luckily our boys had plenty of grit. They live to play another day.
"I know it's cliché for me, but I'm so proud of the boys. They did what they needed to do."
