Casto's goal lifts Dogs to title

ELIDA - A goal by Jarren Casto at the 26:50 mark of the first half proved to be all Celina would need to claim a Division II district championship with a 1-0 win over Shawnee on Thursday night at Elida.

Celina, now 18-1, marches on to the regional semifinals Wednesday at Findlay to take on Vermilion at 7 p.m.

The Bulldogs were outshot in the first half 8-5, but were able to turn things around in the second half, forcing the Indians to spend a lot of time on defense.

"At halftime we talked about how we needed to possess the ball more and we did, but man, it was just a battle," Celina coach Ryan Jenkins said. "Both teams played extremely hard tonight. We were fortunate enough to keep a zero up on the board for them."

Both teams had decent scoring opportunities in the second half but came away empty.

With just under 25 minutes left in the game, Celina's Brennen Piper had a break-away open look at the goal, but his shot was deflected on an outstanding save by Shawnee keeper Max Sweigart.

The Indians' best chance to tie the game came with just six minutes left to play. Alvaro Aguilar worked himself free in the box, but his shot was wide right by inches.

"I thought Celina came up with the stops when they needed it," Shawnee coach Ryan Quatman said. "They we were really holding it down once we got inside the box. We had a couple of chances close that we couldn't  put away."

"They put some pressure on us, but the defense did step up and play well, especially down the stretch in the second half," Jenkins added. "We knew coming in it was going to be a tough battle between two WBL schools. We were fortunate enough to get the one goal that won it for us."

Shawnee (11-6-2) saw its Cinderella run through the District tournament come to an end. The Indians knocked off second-seeded Wapakoneta, third-seed St. Marys and came up a goal short against the top-seed Bulldogs.

"I think a lot of people are surprised, but I'm not. I expected to get this far," Quatman said. "When we played Celina and St. Marys (during the regular season) they both put six goals in on us which surprised us. But I was not surprised that we could make this run."

Advancing to the Sweet 16, Jenkins realizes that things are not going to get any easier for his Bulldogs.

"At this point, if you're still playing, you're playing very good teams," he said. "Everyone that's got this far has beaten some quality teams, and our next competitor is going to be very tough. We're just going to have to come out ready to play, be more efficient offensively and, defensively, keep playing well."