On to regional

OTTOVILLE - After losing to Ottoville 2-1 in the regular season finale, Coldwater was looking to settle the score in the Division III district girls soccer semifinal on the Big Green's home turf on Saturday afternoon.

The Cavaliers came out on the attack on the first whistle and didn't let up until the final whistle in defeating Ottoville 3-1 to capture the program's second district title and first since 2017.

Coldwater (11-6-2) travel to Defiance's Brown Stadium on Tuesday at 7 p.m. for the regional semifinal against Ottawa-Glandorf (18-1-0) after the Titans defeated Archbold 1-0 in the Evergreen District. Ottoville ends its season at 10-5-2.

"This was kind of a round two from the last game of the season with Ottoville," said Coldwater coach Paul Dingledine. "It was kind of a revenge factor, plus we're playing strong now and are back to healthy. The girls have really wanted to get after it. We're happy with the result."

Even with the field at the Bob Kaple Track very slick due to the rain and use, the Cavaliers came out on the attack against the Big Green. The aggression paid off within the first 10 minutes of play when Brianna Keller tried to pass to a teammate, but the ball deflected off an Ottoville defender and into the back of the net at the 31:44 mark to give Coldwater the lead.

The Big Green looked for an answer and got it with just under 23 minutes to play in the half when Jessa Burgei got free on a breakaway and put the ball past Cavs keeper Macy Sheffer to level the match at 1-all.

Coldwater caught a break 6 1/2 minutes before the half as Maddie Sheffer kicked a long shot that eluded the Big Green defense to make it 2-1 heading into the half.

Rather than play it safe and settle for a more conservative offense to heighten the defense, Coldwater continued to put the pressure on Ottoville while in possession of the ball. The field grew more slippery and began to play havoc, but the Coldwater defense solidly backed up Macy Sheffer.

The coup de grâce came with 7:41 to play in the match. Ava Giere lofted a corner kick into the box. After some ping-pong action, Keller got the rebound and booted into the net to make it 3-1, allowing the Cavaliers just enough breathing room for the rest of the match.

"We told them we don't want to play defense for 40 minutes to try and hold a 2-1 lead," said Dingledine. "Let's make them work."