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Celina's Carson Staugler (9) jumps to avoid the leg of Bowling Green's Hayden Fox during Tuesday's Division III boys soccer district semifinal at Elida. Staugler scored the game-winning goal in the Bulldogs' 2-1 victory over the Bobcats.
ELIDA - Celina just missed on its chance to score a second goal early in the second half.
The Bulldogs made sure not to miss a second time.
Carson Staugler's goal off a throw-in with 4 1/2 minutes remaining in regulation broke a 1-1 tie and sent Celina to the Division III boys soccer district finals with a 2-1 win over Bowling Green on Tuesday at the Elida Athletic Complex.
The Bulldogs (14-4-1) return to Elida on Saturday at 3 p.m. to face Western Buckeye League rival Shawnee in the district final. Shawnee defeated Napoleon 3-0 in the first semifinal of the day. The Indians defeated the Bulldogs 4-1 in the regular season meeting on Sept. 10.
The match was physical, with B.G. (13-6-0) receiving two yellow cards for hard fouls and Celina earning one during the match, but Celina handled the Bobcats' aggressive play to keep them off the scoreboard for nearly three-quarters of the match.
"They are a very physical team," Celina coach Ryan Jenkins said of Bowling Green. "They have some good offensive threats. I thought the defense played extremely well. I thought Brady (Celina goalkeeper Brady Steinbrunner) played well back there. To keep them to one goal is a pretty big accomplishment.
Celina's Nelson Chapman (14) kicks the ball toward the goal during Tuesday's Division III boys soccer district game with Bowling Green. Chapman scored the first goal of the night.
Celina had few chances early, but finally brought through with just over four minutes remaining in the first half as Nelson Chapman got the ball outside the goal box and worked his way in and knocked it past Bobcat keeper Teigen Gulgin with 4:02 to play to make it 1-0 at the half.
Celina nearly avoided the upcoming suspense two minutes into the second half when the Bobcats were whistled for a foul inside the goal box with 38 minutes to play. Landon Jones took the kick for Celina. The shot just bounced off the crossbar and came back into play. The Bulldogs had a chance for a rebound, but the ball sailed over the goal.
Seventeen minutes later, Bowling Green got the equalizer when a corner kick deflected off a couple of players and into the back of the Celina net with 21 minutes to play.
Undeterred, Celina tried to break the tie and not have the match go to extra time.
"We bounced back after that goal and made sure it was only one goal and it didn't turn into two (goals)," said Jenkins.
As the clock approached 4 1/2 minutes to play, Jones threw the ball in to the goal area. Staugler jumped up and deflected the ball with his back, putting it past the Bobcat keeper with 4:26 to play to break the tie.
"Would have been nice to get that second goal earlier," said Jenkins. "We had chances. They really dug deep and were able to get that goal in the last five minutes.
"That was a senior-to-senior move. … It was cool to see that. Great throw and Carson was in the right spot. Doesn't matter how it goes in, it just has to go in."
Celina's Kadyn Aller heads the ball to a teammate during Tuesday's Division III boys soccer district semifinal against Bowling Green in Elida.
Celina had a chance for an insurance goal in the final three minutes but just missed. Bowling Green tried for the equalizer, but the Bulldogs were able to get the ball out of harm's way and used a few long kicks to take seconds off the clock until the final whistle.
Steinbrunner finished with four saves for Celina, which had a 6-2 advantage on corner kicks.
Now, the Bulldogs face Shawnee for the second time. The Indians only allowed three goals in WBL play, with Celina having one of them.
"Shawnee got us earlier this year. They're a very good squad," said Jenkins. "We're looking forward to the challenge."
