A battle to the end

COLDWATER - The Coldwater girls soccer team had never beaten Celina going into Saturday's matchup.

In fact, last season's 3-2 contest was the first time the Cavaliers had scored against the Bulldogs after having been shut out 43-0 from 2010 to 2015.

When the final whistle sounded, Coldwater stopped Celina's win streak but could not pick up its first victory in the series as the match ended in a 3-3 tie at Cavalier Stadium in Coldwater.

"We were well-matched teams," Coldwater coach Lisa Brackman said. "It was back-and-forth. Our girls didn't give up."

"It was a great game. Coldwater plays hard and doesn't give up," Celina coach Cal Freeman said. "It was a battle to the end."

The teams played with neither team getting any good looks a the net, Finally with 11:07 remaining in the first half, Maura Hoying set up from 20 yards out and kicked a high fly ball that Celina keeper Kennedy Henry could not catch to give the Cavs a 1-0 lead.

The Bulldogs needed just 5 1/2 minutes to respond as the Cavaliers were called for a penalty inside the 18-yard box. Mya Lockwood took the penalty kick and knocked it to the right of keeper Grace Bruns to make it 1-1 going into the half.

Hoying put the Cavaliers back in front two minutes into the second half by getting open and breaking away for an open shot at the net with 37:52 remaining in the match. Celina's Bailey Laux nearly tied the match 40 seconds later with a direct kick, but the ball landed on top of the goal and out of bounds.

Finally with just under 27 minutes left to play, Natalie Schrolucke connected with a passing kick to Larissa Orick, who had the fortune of a great angle to kick the ball past Bruns and into the back of the net with 26:45 to play to tie the match.

Fortune - good for Celina and bad for Coldwater - favored Celina in taking a 3-2 lead with 18 minutes to play when a shot inside the box deflected off a Coldwater defender and into the goal for an own goal.

"That was unfortunate. (The defender) was in the right spot to defend. Sometimes it happens," Brackman said of the own goal. "I was a defender. I've been in her shoes."

Coldwater tried hard to get the equalizer and finally got the ball when freshman Megan Sigler booted a high kick over the head of Henry and into the goal with 5:49 left to level the match. Both teams tried to record a tie-breaking goal in the final minute, but nothing was close to making the goal.

"Both teams were trying hard," Freeman said of getting the go-ahead goal. Hats' off to them."

"I was happy we could rally as a team," Brackman said. "I was glad Megan got that goal."

Celina won a shortened junior varsity match 1-0.

Both teams are back in action Tuesday at home. Celina hosts Shawnee in a WBL contest.

NOTE: The Coldwater soccer team held a fundraiser for Minster freshman Jackson (Action Jackson) Hogenkamp, who is battling osteosarcoma. The Cavaliers wore special "Kick for the Cure" jerseys and held a bake sale and 50/50 during the day.