Senior Night win

CELINA - Bolstered by a strong defense, Celina celebrated Senior Night in style by picking up its second straight win with a 4-0 shutout of Wapakoneta in Western Buckeye League girls soccer action at the soccer stadium.

The win moves the Bulldogs to 8-4-1 on the season and 6-2 in the Western Buckeye League.

The Bulldogs honored its four seniors - Jena Wilson, Zoey Burns, Mia Rolfes and Harlee Harris - with solid play as coach Eric Gerker went deep on his bench, playing 21 players since there was no junior varsity match.

"It was Senior Night with a lot of emotion going around," said Gerker. "Girls started off rough around the edges. Once we settled down, things started going for us. Can't say enough about the contributions tonight."

Wapak (4-9-1, 2-5-1 WBL) was up for the challenge and worked to keep Celina from getting good looks at the net as keeper Maddison Springer had several saves early. Finally, with the clock winding down to the 14-minute mark of the first half, a frenzy of action in front of the Wapak net paid off as Raven Harris headed the ball after it was deflected by Springer and put it in the back of the net with 14:07 remaining to give Celina the lead.

The hot play continue into the second half as Celina needed just two minutes to start cushioning the lead. Mia Rolfes took a pass from Taylor Klingshirn and scored with 37:57 remaining. Nearly 10 minutes later, Kristina Stein, getting key minutes due to injuries, scored on a rebound to push the lead to 3-0. The final goal came with 10 1/2 minutes to play when Klingshirn got a rebound of her own and scored to make it 4-0.

"Kira Dirksen went down with a sprained ankle early in the game and Kristina Stein comes in and gives us a lot of minutes and scores a big goal," said Gerker. "We preach to the girls to be ready at all times. You can never have enough depth."

That was more than enough for Riley Seitz to earn a spotless scoresheet on the night. The junior keeper had three saves and wasn't overly taxed as the Celina defense deterred much of the Wapak offense.

"All of the defenders who played back there tonight played a real solid match tonight," said Gerker.

Celina is back in action on Saturday with a trip to Coldwater in a battle of Mercer County bragging rights.