Bowling Green senior Mathias Drumm (17), center, moves the ball up the pitch against Maumee defenders Jackson Becker (10), left, and Noah Armstrong, during the second half of a district semifinal match Monday evening at Lake High School.
Scott W. Grau | Sentinel-Tribune
MILLBURY — It took a while for Bowling Green to get going but once the Bobcats got going, they were unstoppable Monday at Lake Community Stadium.
After a scoreless 52 minutes of soccer, BG scored all three goals in the final 28 minutes to defeat Maumee, 3-0, in a Division II district semifinal.
The first half was so ugly, that Maumee had a 4-2 advantage in shots, and there was just one shot on the net, by Maumee freshman forward Jaxson Greenlese. The Bobcats had no shots on goal the first 40 minutes.
In the second half, BG outshot Maumee 8-4, and the Bobcats had a 10-8 advantage in shots and 8-5 advantage in shots on goal by the time all was said and done.
BG coach Josh Fox said the Bobcats changed their offense at halftime, but he said there was another element that played into the Bobcats’ strong second half — settling down and playing their game.
“We went back to a formation that we typically are in,” Fox said. “Really the message at halftime was calm down, relax. We survived 40 minutes.
“I thought we had a couple good chances. We just had to regain our composure and play like we know how to play, and once we settled in, we did that.”
The offensive explosion began when BG junior midfielder Cole Ash beat a defender in the box and scored with 27:55 remaining in the game.
“Cole’s goal did a lot for us,” said BG senior midfielder and co-captain Mathias Drumm.
“Getting that first goal was big. He found his gap through the middle, poked it into the corner, and that was huge for us momentum wise to keep us going in the game.”
Nearly 20 minutes later, Drumm did a bit of his own magic, thanks to a lead pass from senior forward Jonas Kendrick. Drumm found the back of the net with 8:06 remaining.
“It was a great ball from Jonas, over the top,” Drumm said. “We tried it, I got in close, got it and poked it over the keeper.”
For insurance purposes, Drumm made sure the Bobcats got a third goal, leading a three-on-one counter with Ash on one side and sophomore forward Tomas Meek on the other.
Drumm could have dished to either one. Meek was the benefactor, and he scored easily with 1:42 remaining.
“They were pushing their numbers and we just had a quick counter, collected some passes and played through and had a great finish,” Drumm said.
BG coach Josh Fox said the play leading to the final game was what soccer should look like when it is played right. The Bobcats dominated during the home stretch.
“That really takes effort, the last 10 minutes,” Fox said. “It was a possession down the right-hand side where the ball just moved, one touch, and that is what we can do.
“That is what has gotten us here and I hope that it keeps us going forward.”
Meanwhile, BG’s defense, behind junior goalkeeper Gus Haynes, earned its seventh shutout this season. Haynes had five saves.
“The defense was resilient, kept it out (of the box), even when they pushed numbers toward the end,” Drumm said. “They kept everything out, kept it clean, no mistakes, and that was great.”
Maumee sees its season end with a 10-9 record. BG, which defeated Maumee, 2-0, during Northern Lakes League play this season, advances to the district finals against Delta Thursday at Lake Community Stadium, kickoff scheduled for 5 p.m.
Delta is 16-0-3 after winning against Lake (14-1-3), 2-1, after two overtimes and a penalty kick shootout in the nightcap Thursday. In the final Northwest District coaches’ poll, Delta was ranked fourth and BG seventh.
