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Celina boys soccer players celebrate after receiving the Division III district championship with a 1-0 win over Lexington at Shelby High School. The Bulldogs take on Revere on Wednesday in Port Clinton.
SHELBY - Celina fans had quite a distance to travel Saturday for the Bulldogs' boys soccer Division III district title against Lexington in Shelby. But the team made the trip worth it, as Bridon Jeffries' first-half goal was all they needed to beat the Minutemen 1-0 to win the district title and advance to the regional semifinals.
"We didn't quite have the finish in the league we'd like (the Bulldogs were 4-4 in Western Buckeye League play), so we turned to the tournament. We were able to play a couple of teams that beat us (Ottawa-Glandorf and Shawnee), and had a chance to revenge those losses," said Celina coach Ryan Jenkins. "Obviously we didn't play Lexington in the regular season, but we knew they were a quality team. We're playing well right now and happy to be having practice next week."
The Bulldogs (13-5) will now take on Richfield Revere (15-3-2) on Nov. 4 at 7 p.m. in Port Clinton, after changes to the schedule moved Mansfield Christian to Celina's original site of Ashland.
Celina opened the match on the front foot and had the first few chances. While the first shot on target was saved 10 minutes in, the second found the back of the net.
A cross found Drew Baumstark on the edge of the box, who laid it off to Jeffries. The senior hit it clean into the bottom corner, and Celina had the lead with 25:26 left in the half.
Celina's Bridon Jeffries (7) kicks in the lone goal of the match off the assist from Drew Baumstark (17) in the Division III district final in Shelby.
The Minutemen had opportunities to end the half, including a corner with just 30 seconds left, but a good save from junior keeper Braylon Steinbrunner kept them off the scoresheet. Celina kept the 1-0 lead into the break, a familiar feeling after leading Shawnee 1-0 at the half in the district semifinal.
Unlike that match against the Indians however, the Bulldogs came out attacking in the second half Saturday. While they could not find a second goal, the momentum of the match never left their side early in the half.
"Honestly, I didn't think one goal was going to win it," said Jenkins. "At halftime, we talked about trying to get that second goal. But defensively, we were able to keep it out. (Lexington) put some pressure on us similar to Shawnee did, but we were able to hang on again. At this point, all you have to do is win."
Celina's Rhett Schelucher (5) takes the ball away from Lexington's James Mayer (4), during Saturday's D-III district final at Shelby.
The best chance that Lexington had to equalize came with just a few minutes to go. A run down the left wing sprung the Celina defense into action, with Zaden Rolfes lunging at the shot to block it out of play.
A pair of late corners led to nothing for the Minutemen with Celina booting the ball far away from their net. The game came to a close soon after with the Bulldogs' bench rushing the field.
Steinbrunner kept the clean sheet with four saves in net, while Celina's attack had five shots on target in the match.
