John Bruce, Staff Writer
Southern Ohio Sports Authority is presented by OhioHealth.
KINNIKINNICK — A golden goal only comes around in postseason play. But for North Adams, the combination of Baldwin to Call to Reckers will live on in postseason lore for years to come.
With 5:52 to play in overtime, the Green Devils’ Jaxson Baldwin won possession around midfield and dribbled through Minford’s defense before sending a through ball to Preston Call. Call sent a left-footed pass towards the far post, connecting with Jaydon Reckers, who slammed home the game-winner.
“Our coaches took us aside before the first overtime and told us that it could be our last game and we decided that we weren’t going out that way,” Call said. “Not again.”
CREDIT: Derrick Webb/SOSA
It set off a wild celebration, ending a 2-1 win over Minford, and sent the Green Devils back to the district championship round.
“It was awesome,” Reckers said. “We really worked towards that by thinking more offensively in that overtime. We kicked it into gear and just knew it was time to put it away.”
The first half featured top-of-the-line defense from both sides as they did their best to slow down the dynamic offenses that were in front of them.
North Adams’ Daulton Pence had a spectacular recovery to deny Minford’s Ashton Reeder a look on goal within the first few minutes of play, while Minford’s Trevor Born collected a trio of easy saves in the first half for the Falcons.
“[Pence] creates a sense of protection for the offense when he’s on defense,” Call said. “Even if the ball gets back on defense, we know he’s there. And if it gets away from him, which it usually doesn’t, we have Tyler [Richendollar] and Jaxson back there.”
With the ball staying in the middle third of the field for a majority of the opening half, both teams looked to make their impact on the game with their skill and physicality, leading to 16 well-earned whistles in the first 40 minutes of action.
North Adams’ Call and Reckers made repeated runs, while Reeder and Colby Mullens tried to put their stamp on the game for the Falcons as well.
Through 40 minutes, though, neither team could make any headway towards a victory.
And much of the second half fell that way as well.
North Adams’ took a significant amount of shots but, due to a Falcons’ defense forcing those shots to be taken from outside of the penalty area, Born was left virtually unbothered throughout regulation.
The same thing could be said for the Green Devils’ Thad Moore as the junior was able to calmly collect his six saves without having to leave his feet.
So the teams came together after 80 scoreless minutes and the idea was simple — get a golden goal and march on to the district final.
However, when playing elite defensive teams such as Minford and North Adams, that simple idea is the most difficult to execute.
It’d take the work of one spectacular play to get the job done.
Following a cleared throw-in from deep in their end, NA’s Baldwin stopped an attacking Falcon before dribbling through four defenders with clever ball-handling.
As the last defender stepped to Baldwin, he laid off a through pass for Call, who quickly ran on to it. With Born bearing down on him, the senior sent a left-footed ball towards the far post.
“I always trust him [Baldwin],” Call said. “He moved through traffic and knew where to play the ball to me. I found [Reckers] and he scored.”
With the sphere bouncing wide, Reckers hustled to the back post just in time to hammer a right-footed strike into the back of the net.
As the ball left Reckers’ foot, the junior threw his hands into the air in exuberance and sprinted towards his bench to celebrate one of the biggest victories in school history.
“It was a big accomplishment,” Reckers said. “We had a tough one last year when we lost in penalty kicks. It was a big one to win and we got it.”
With the win, North Adams will return to Zane Trace on Saturday evening to take on a familiar foe in the Valley Indians, who they played to a 2-2 draw during the regular season, setting up what could be another outstanding contest under the lights in Kinnikinnick. The Green Devils have already set a program record for wins in a season and will next look for their first district title in program history.
Stat book
Shots: North Adams 15, Minford 9
Saves: North Adams 6 (Moore 6), Minford 6 (Born 6)
Fouls: North Adams 16, Minford 8
Corners: North Adams 4, Minford 2
Offsides: North Adams 0, Minford 8
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