Bouncing back

CELINA - The Coldwater defense held tough for a while, but in the end Celina broke through.

The Bulldogs dominated time of possession in the first half, and it paid off with two goals shortly before the half to give the Bulldogs a commanding 3-0 lead on the way to a 6-1 win at the soccer stadium on Saturday.

"We put some goals on the board, that's something we've been struggling with," Celina coach Eric Gerker said. "Executed pretty well offensively. Didn't connect on a couple of the breakaway opportunities we had, but defensively we played a real good match there, limited their opportunities. Did a decent job of holding the ball."

Celina held the ball for most of the first 15 minutes and remained in control for the rest of the half, preventing Coldwater from mustering an attack. The Cavaliers were held without a shot on goal in the first half and found only one viable scoring chance, when Ava Giere took a long shot that went right.

Carley Eichler opened the scoring with 28:22 left in the first half after Celina had missed several early chances, but the Cavaliers held up on defense until Hitchcock earned the Bulldogs' second off a penalty corner.

"That's something we try to stress to the girls, is to get one in in the first 12 minutes of the game. That's our goal to start the match," Gerker said. "When you're playing from in front, it just eases you into the game a little bit more."

Coldwater was able to get some chances in the second half, but the Bulldogs kept scoring. Kira Dirksen and Jena Wilson tacked on two more, while Eichler added her second of the day.

The Cavaliers' lone score of the day came with just over two minutes to go, as Blair Muhlenkamp recovered a deflection in front of the goal and buried it in the right side of the net.

"We were competitive at the beginning, and then we let down," Coldwater coach Lisa Brackman said. "They moved the ball better than us and we couldn't stay with our marks. It happens sometimes. It was a good learning experience for us."

After the win, Celina goes on the road on Tuesday against Van Wert. Coldwater will be on the road for its last two games, against Ottoville and Bluffton.