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Celina's Campbelle Gass (11) and Bath's Alyx Liles battle for the ball.
CELINA - Coming into Thursday's match riding a six-match winning streak, Celina battled to pick up its 12th win on the year in a 1-0 match against Bath.
The win puts Celina into a tie for first place in the Western Buckeye League with Ottawa-Glandorf, who was off Thursday.
The match started slow as both teams were trying to figure each other out. When it seemed like one team controlled play, the other would step in to stop an attack. The Bulldogs out-shot Bath 7-6, but the visiting Wildcats put five of their shots on target, compared to just two for Celina.
Both teams went into halftime without a goal, and Celina was on the back foot heading to the break.
"Bath is a very scrappy team," Celina Coach David Hammons said. "They've had a lot of success this year, we knew they were not going to lay down for us."
As the teams started the second half, it was clear that Celina had an extra edge on the field. The Bulldogs pressed Bath over the first 10 minutes, and eventually got their breakthrough.
A cross made its way to Ali Hemmelgarn, and the freshman put her boot through it for a Celina goal. With just under 29 minutes left, the Bulldog faithful had a reason to celebrate.
Celina's Ali Hemmelgarn (24) is greeted by teammate Jada Highley after scoring the go-ahead goal as Celina defeated Bath 1-0 to stay on top of the Western Buckeye League girls soccer standings.
Bath did not go down without a fight however. The Wildcats faced more pressure from Celina, who was pushing for a second, but eventually the gaps opened up.
The Wildcats found their footing over the final 25 minutes, and put a lot of pressure on keeper Alaina Vehorn. Bath totaled 10 shots in the second half, with six being on target. Some shots hit the bar, some went all the way to the backstop, but the message was clear.
Over the final 10 minutes, tension filled the stadium. Celina had chances to put the game out of reach with a second goal, but could not find the net, which only added to the pressure.
Bath kept going, and with a few minutes left they got a corner. The ball was hit toward the back post, but Vehorn was able to collect it.
As the final seconds ticked away, Celina could sense it. The clock hit zero, and the Bulldogs were celebrating. Despite having to hang on over the final quarter of the match, Celina was able to weather the storm and keep hold to their undefeated home record.
"We talked about not letting the hard days win. It wasn't our best performance that we've had all season. I was proud with how we responded.'" Hammons said.
Up next for Celina is a trip to Ottawa to face the Titans. A win sees them take sole possession of first place in the WBL, but that is no easy task.
"We know the next game is going to be a really tough opponent again, (Ottawa-Glandorf) has had a string of ridiculous success so we're ready for another tough fight," Hammons said.
Celina's Allana Vondenhuevel (7) keeps pace with a Bath player during Thursday's WBL soccer match at the soccer stadium.
