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[ PREVIOUS STORIES ]

09-15-03: Bulldogs win but improvement needed

By MARC TOBIAS
mtobias@dailystandard.com

The Celina girls soccer squad was able to remain undefeated (5-0-1) as it knocked off Bluffton by a 6-3 score, but despite the win, Celina coach Dean Liggett said he believes his team still has things to improve upon.
“It was an ugly game all the way around, it was ugly how they scored and it was ugly how we scored,” said Celina coach Dean Liggett. “It wasn’t a finess game, it wasn’t a tactical game. We had some nice crosses to put ourselves into position to be there, but it wasn’t our best game. It was probably our worst game we’ve played all year.”
Liggett’s displeasure most likely came when Celina almost let a 4-1 lead slip away.
Leading by three goals, Celina allowed Bluffton to score a pair of goals with less than 15 minutes left in the match to put the game in serious jeopardy.
“I wasn’t very happy at 4-3, and someone on the bench told me we had two more goals in us and it turned out we did,” Liggett said. “It’s still disappointing, coming off a game like Elida when we played very well and the defense did their job. Granted Elida probably didn’t have as many shots as Bluffton did today, and when you get outside the WBL the girls appeared to have a little bit of a letdown because it’s not as big a game for them. But it’s still a win and I really thought we would have a legitimate shot at a shutout today. But if you give up three goals, I guess give it up outside of the WBL and we’ll focus for Bath on Tuesday.”
The Pirates’ Emily Goldsberry scored her second goal of the match when she struck a nice shot from 20 yards that went just over Kelli Williams’ head.
Moments later Bluffton’s Jenna Begg hit an almost identical shot from 25 yards. Once again it was a lofted shot that just cleared Williams’ outstretched arms.
“The last two were long balls that just eluded the keeper, and I think Kelli’s one of the best keepers in the area, it was just up above her,” Liggett said. “I guess you have to say nice shot, but those are shots that we tell some of our players they have the leg to take and we don’t take them. It proves if you do take them you have a chance for them to go in.”
Facing some adversity with just the one-goal lead, Celina finished the game strong.
Beth Braun crossed a ball to the top of the six-yard box to Brittany Riesen who was able to chest a ball into the net in the 76th minute.
Celina then closed the game for good on a corner kick two minutes later. Andrea Bryan served a great ball from the corner that Jenna Schleucher put away for the Bulldogs’ sixth goal.
Goldsberry scored the games first goal in the fifth minute, Celina then answered with four straight goals.
Meg Smalley scored Celina’s first goal when Lauren Dammeyer provided a great service from about 30 yards away.
Riesen scored the first of her two goals in the 26th minute on an assist from Shay Adams, and Schleucher scored the first of her two goals on a Braun assist.
Schleucher also picked up an assist when she fed Adams for the Bulldogs’ fourth goal of the game in the 59th minute.
Bluffton falls to 2-3-2 on the season. Celina returns to action Tuesday in a WBL match against Bath.

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