By Cort Reynolds

BLUFFTON __ The Bluffton High School girls soccer team lost 4-2 to Northwest Conference rival Columbus Grove on a pair of late goals in Div. V district final action at Steinmetz Field on Thursday, October 24.  

Grove senior ace Lauryn Auchmuty netted three second-half goals, including two in the 73rd minute, to break a 2-2 tie and lead the Bulldogs to the victory.

Bluffton beat top-seeded Riverdale 3-0 in the semis Tuesday after losing to the Falcons in the last two district finals. The Pirates hoped to continue their revenge tour Thursday by avenging their late September loss at CG which cost them the league title, but Auchmuty and Grove intervened.

The Pirates end their season with a 12-6-1 record after the defeat. It was the third year in a row they advanced to the district finals but lost at home. 

Second-seeded Grove improved to 17-1-2 with the hard-fought victory. They advance to the regional semifinals next week after capturing their first district championship.

Bluffton junior scoring leader Aubrey Burkholder tallied both Pirate goals to finish this season with 20 goals.

Neither team could score for the first 15 minutes of the battle.

In the 16th minute, Auchmuty left-footed a tightly-contested crossing pass to the far right post. Keeper Kynzie Ewing came out of the goal to attempt a diving save on the perfect feed, but Bulldog Ella Dotson was there to simultaneously kick it out of her grasp.

Dotson then booted the loosened ball into the center of the open net before the defense could recover to get Grove on the scoreboard first, 1-0.

Burkholder tied it up by converting a penalty kick goal in the 36th minute to send the match to halftime with a 1-1 score. Her well-placed rolling shot to the lower right corner eluded diving CG keeper Erianne Heffner.

Northwest Conference Player of the Year Auchmuty quickly put CG on top with a goal in the first minute of the second half. Neither team scored for the ensuing 28 minutes.

With the tension rising, Burkholder equalized it 2-2 by netting her second goal in the 69th minute.

But Auchmuty untied it just four minutes later by finding the back of the net to provide Grove with a 3-2 lead. 

Seconds later, Auchmuty struck again with a dagger goal to stun Bluffton and double the lead to 4-2.

Neither team scored over the final six-plus minutes, and CG clinched its first-ever district crown.

Auchmuty, Devanie Pingle and Heffner each passed out one assist.

Bluffton directed 13 of their 17 shots on goal. The Bulldogs also got off 17 shots, 10 of which were on goal.

Pirate goalkeeper Ewing made six saves, while CG keeper Heffner was credited with 11 saves.

The Grove girls had previously defeated visiting Bluffton 2-1 Sept. 30. Auchmuty and Ruth Myers tallied second half goals to overcome a 1-0 Pirate halftime lead provided by Mya McDougle’s goal.

That CG win proved to be the difference in the league standings as Grove finished 6-0 to dethrone the two-time NWC champion Pirates, who went 5-1.

The two rivals have split the last four NWC championships. CG won the league crown in 2021 and 2024 for their only two conference crowns. Meanwhile, Bluffton captured the title in 2022 and 2023 to give them a league-best six NWC banners (four outright, two shared).

The Pirate girls finished the season 7-3 at home after the win. CG is now 7-0-1 on the road this season.  

This season, Auchmuty has scored 47 goals and passed out 15 assists. She has tallied 327 career points on 140 goals and 47 assists.

Grove’s lone loss this season was to Kalida by a 1-0 count on Oct. 10. Bluffton won at Kalida 1-0 five days earlier on Oct. 5.