Late goal lifts Celina to win

CELINA - Given the hard-fought effort the Celina girls soccer team put up against Findlay for 80 minutes, a win was the perfect way to end the night.

Holli Brackman's rebound goal with 14 seconds left in the match allowed Celina to come away with a 2-1 win over the Trojans in the season opener for both teams at the soccer stadium.

"Team just played hard," Celina coach Calvin Freeman said. "This is a hard-fought game coming out of the chute. Should be a pat on the back for them. A well-deserved win."

After the teams played a scoreless first half, Findlay started the second half by cranking up the pressure. After attempting eight shots on goal in the first half, the Trojans put 10 shots on goal in the final 40 minutes.

Callie Vogel was on her game. The Celina goalkeeper made 10 saves on the night, six in the second half.

"That was just awesome," Freeman said of Vogel. "She made a couple layout saves that were just textbook."

Celina struck first in the match. During an attack in goal, Findlay keeper Marissa Wintrow hit the ground to make a save but lost possession of the ball. Jenna Berry was right in position to boot the rebound into the back of the net at the 34:30 mark to make it 1-0.

Eight minutes later, Findlay had a prime opportunity to level the match when Celina was called for a foul in the penalty box. Morgan Kirk stepped in to take the penalty kick, but her shot was wide of the goal, keeping Celina in the lead.

The Trojans finally were able to tie the match with 19:12 to go. Madison Mlsna booted a corner kick into the goal zone. Vogel tried for the interception but the ball hit the ground, allowing Taylor Steinke to kick it into the back of the net to tie the game.

Findlay had a chance for another corner kick goal a few minutes later, but Vogel snagged the ball in the air to end the threat.

Both teams tried to pick up the tempo in the final minutes, but as the clock rolled under a minute, it looked like the teams would settle for the tie.

Then, with 20 seconds left, the clock was stopped as a Findlay player was shown the yellow card for tripping, giving Celina a free kick just inside the midfield stripe. The ensuing keep went deep into the zone and pinballed between players from each team. Brackman was able to control her kick and knocked the ball past Wintrow with 14 seconds left to put Celina into the lead. The Celina defense denied Findlay a chance for a quick march down the field as the clock ran out.

"That's why you play it all the way to the end," Freeman said. "It was just a great hard-fought game (by) both squads. Hat goes off to Findlay. They're a good team."

In the junior varsity match, Findlay won 3-0.

Celina is back in action Thursday, making the trip to Village Hall Field in Coldwater to face the Cavaliers in a battle of Mercer County soccer teams.