An announced crowd of 6,542 attended the game under an overcast sky amid 55-degree temperatures.
Story by Cort Reynolds
18 Photos by Marvin Foster
COLUMBUS - The Bluffton boys soccer team had its magical run to the Div. III state finals end Sunday in MAPFRE Stadium at the feet of Columbus Wellington, 4-0.
Bluffton finished its historic season 18-3-2 with the defeat at the 20,000-seat home of the Columbus Crew. It was their third consecutive contest against a team ranked in the top five in the state poll.
Fifth-ranked Columbus Wellington improved to 18-2-3 with the championship win.
Wellington senior Ahmet Ozer netted three first half goals over a 12-minute span to break open a close game and pace his team to victory.
Pirate junior goalkeeper Nic Essinger made a fine save early to turn back the first Jaguar scoring attempt.
Bluffton then had a good opportunity to grab the lead just before the 19-minute mark.
Pirate junior Jonathan Schriner floated a good pass from the right side to the open middle. But Tayton Kleman's shot from close range went right at Jaguar keeper Aurius Calloway, who made what turned out to be his only true save of the contest.
Then 30 seconds later, Ozer received a long ball just outside the box from teammate Henry Lin. He executed a spin move and and drilled it into the net left-footed from eight yards out to put Wellington in front, 1-0.
Essinger made a diving stop of a shot by Jordan Livits in the 23rd minute to keep the score 1-0.
Yet just 4:05 after his first score, Ozer corraled a through ball from Freddie Lin and netted a 25-foot shot from the right side to put the Jaguars on top, 2-0.
Then at the 30:46 mark, Ozer fielded a perfect long ball from just beyond midfield by Eli Dulle. Ozer then accurately placed a shot into the lower left corner of the net past a diving Essinger to extend the lead to 3-0.
In the 37th minute, Essinger made a good two-handed deflection save on a shot from five yards out on the right side.
Toward the end of the first half, Essinger saved a shot from 20 yards out off the foot of Fred Lin.
The Jaguars took 11 first half shots compared to two by the Pirates.
Bluffton stymied a corner kick 70 seconds into the second half, and Essinger saved a Lin shot in the 43rd minute.
The Pirates launched their lone corner kick of the game in the 51st minute off the foot of Asher Antrim, but they could not get a clean shot off.
With about 23 minutes left in the second half, Wellington threatened to add to its lead. Essinger came out from his line and collided with a player while saving a header, leading to a rebound shot by Ozer from close range with the keeper on the ground.
But Pirate Eli Lemley was perfectly positioned in front of the goal to make a fine kick save with his right leg to prevent a score and keep the deficit at 3-0.
Midway through the second half, Essinger made a routine save of a long shot by Wellington.
Then at the 61:51 mark, Freddie Lin ran down a fine long pass from Henry Lin between two Pirate defenders along the left side. With a one-touch move, Lin then fired a powerful 35-foot shot to the far right post past Essinger to put the Jaguars ahead, 4-0.
Bluffton manufactured a solid scoring opportunity in the 69th minute, but Kleman's boot from straight on 20 yards out sailed just over the crossbar.
A few minutes later Ozer replaced Calloway at keeper, and Pirate senior goalie Zach Taylor came in for Essinger.
Shortly thereafter Taylor saved a Lin shot from 10 yards out with a diving stop and recovery in front of the goal after the ball briefly squirted past him.
A shot by Pirate Jude Spallinger sailed high and wide in the 76th minute.
Ozer came up with a stop at the three-minute mark. Then with a minute to go, Pirate Matt Daws drilled a left side free kick that a teammate deflected right to Ozer.
Freddie Lin received a yellow card with 64 seconds remaining, and Wellington ran out the clock to clinch the crown.
For the game, the victors got off 17 shots (12 on goal) compared to four by Bluffton, one of which was on goal. Essinger was credited with six saves, and Taylor added two stops in goal.
The Pirates mustered one corner kick while the Jaguars earned five corners.
Bluffton was whistled for 15 fouls and Wellington had just four. The Jaguars were called off sides four times.
An announced crowd of 6,542 attended the game under an overcast sky amid 55-degree temperatures.
The Jaguars dominated in tournament play, not allowing a single goal while outscoring their opposition 40-0 in seven wins.
Their closest tournament results were a 3-0 regional semifinal win over Berlin Hiland, and the 4-0 finals verdict vs. the Pirates.
Bluffton finished 5-2 in neutral site games after the defeat, which snapped a string of four straight overtime tourney wins.
Their previous loss came to Shawnee 2-1 on October 5, nine matches ago. Wellington improved to 10-1-2 in neutral site contests with the win.
Wellington's only losses came at Div. I Hilliard Davidson by a 2-1 score September 5, and at Columbus St. Charles 3-0 on Sept. 26. After that, they won their final 10 matches to capture the first soccer state title in their history.
Wellington is a private, college preparatory school located in Upper Arlington, and was founded in 1982.
Bluffton outscored its foes 19-8 in their 6-1 tourney run through the finals.
