By Cort Reynolds
TIFFIN - The top-seeded Bluffton boys soccer team handily defeated Willard 6-2 in Div. III district semifinal action at Tiffin Columbian Wednesday evening.
The win upped the Pirate record to 14-2-2 and advanced them to the district finals against third seed Riverdale (14-0-4) Saturday evening. Willard ends its season 8-9-1 with the defeat.
Against the sixth-seeded Crimson Flashes, the Pirates raced to a 3-0 lead and extended it to 6-2 just past the midway point of the second half to win going away.
Bluffton's Jude Spallinger started the scoring in the 13th minute, giving the Pirates a lead they would not relinquish.
Jayden Mays scored to make it 2-0 in the 20th minute, followed seconds later by a Jonathan Schriner goal that extended the lead to 3-0.
Manuel Diaz of Willard cut the deficit to 3-1 with a goal in the 29th minute, and it stayed that way into halftime.
Schriner built the lead to 4-1 with his second tally in the 49th minute, followed three minutes later by Spallinger's second goal.
Omar Gomez netted a goal to bring Willard within 5-2 in the 62nd minute. But Pirate Nolan Hoffman responded with a goal a minute later to provide the final margin of victory.
Willard got off just five shots, three of which were on goal. Bluffton challenged the goalkeeper for 22 of their 34 shots.
The Crimson Flash keeper made 14 saves, while Nic Essinger made one stop for the Pirates.
The district finals will be held Saturday, Oct. 26 at Tiffin Columbian's Frost-Kalnow Stadium at 6 p.m.
Riverdale edged second-seeded Van Buren 1-0 on a Jackson Clark goal with just over a minute left in overtime to win the other district semifinal at Tiffin Wednesday evening.
The Falcons also beat the Black Knights 1-0 Oct. 10. Bluffton tied Riverdale 0-0 back on September 17.
The Tiffin district champion will play the Elyria district winner Oct. 30 in the regional semifinals at a site TBA. The regional finals will be November 2 at a site TBA.
