KALIDA — The Division III boys soccer district semifinals in Kalida at Mark Czubik Field was a Putnam County showdown in both contests.
The opening match featured the undefeated Ottoville Big Green and the Continental Pirates. The Big Green took the first meeting 2-1 and were looking to repeat for a chance to move on to the district finals.
The Big Green got on the board less than eight minutes into the match on a Preston Mansfield goal and tacked on two more in the first half to come away with a 3-1 victory.
“It is always tough to play an opponent you’ve already played in the regular season,” Big Green head coach Dustin Markward said. “And that is especially true for a league foe. It’s a matter of making adjustments.”
Ottoville (18-0-1) got on board at 32:44 of the opening half when Mansfield got it by Pirate goalkeeper Collin Hammond for a 1-0 lead.
Jaden Sexton netted a ricochet goal with 1:12 to go before the break to make it a 2-0 score.
The Big Green punched more across before the half. With 37 seconds to go, Andy Moorman headed in the third goal for a 3-0 edge.
In the second half, the Pirates (10-8-1) needed an offensive push, but Ottoville’s defense prevented that.
Although Continental gained field position for the better part of the first half, the Big Green defense would not bend.
The Pirates did prevent the shutout as with 2:51 left Blake Weible headed a goal in for a 3-1 deficit.
“We were confident coming in about what we could do offensively,” Markward said. “It came down to our defense. Getting up three goals can almost be a negative because you can think you can relax. We gave up that goal with some backups in but overall, we controlled the ball and their offense.”
Ottoville will play the winner of Kalida and Miller City at noon Saturday.
Dave Boninsegna wrote this story for LimaScores.com. Reach The Lima News sports department at 567-242-0451.
