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Waterloo soccer leaders (left to right) Ryan Baswell, Sam Griffiths and Zach Morgan, and the rest of the Vikings, saw Waterloo's season come to an end Saturday in a 5-2 loss to Crestview.
COLUMBIANA, Ohio – The Waterloo boys soccer team couldn’t take advantage of all of its opportunities, and Columbiana Crestview senior Jacob Mellinger took advantage of all of his. That was the difference in the Rebels' (17-1-1) 5-2 victory over the Vikings on Saturday afternoon at the Austintown Division III district championship.
“The difference in the game was they finished their first opportunity and we missed our first three opportunities,” Waterloo coach Steve Knapp said.
Mellinger was the one to capitalize with a goal with 26:46 left to put Crestview up 1-0. The senior went on to score three goals in the first half and four for the game as the Rebels built a 4-0 halftime lead and coasted in the second half.
“Jake’s scored goals all year for us,” Crestview coach Jon Kinkead said. “He’s our go-to guy.”
Mellinger was humble following the game and credited his teammates with his success.
“Our team played our butts off and came away with the win,” Mellinger said. “My teammates set me up really well.”
The offensive onslaught by the Rebels was completed when Mellinger slipped past the Waterloo defense with five minutes left in the first half.
“I told my guys that the second goal would probably win it. I was one off,” Kinkead said. “A four-goal lead with these field conditions is basically insurmountable.”
While the 4-0 lead proved insurmountable it didn’t stop the Vikings from giving it their best try. Jeremy Floyd put Waterloo on the board with over 27 minutes left in the game, and Nathan Merchant drew the game to 4-2 with 15:29 left off of a pass from senior Ryan Baswell. That would be all the closer the Vikings could get.
The Vikings missed a couple more key opportunities in the second half that could have potentially tied the game at 4, but Mellinger killed all momentum with his fourth goal with four minutes left in the game.
“I give (my players) a lot of credit they didn’t quit,” Knapp said. “It was a great season and we accomplished almost all of our goals, we wanted to come out of our district.”
It should also be noted that this district championship was supposed to be played on Waterloo’s home pitch, but was moved to Crestview because the Vikings’ field was deemed unplayable. The decision to make it a home game for Crestview didn’t please Knapp.
“It’s just unfortunate to have our home game moved here,” Knapp said. “The field conditions were not ideal, it should have been played on a neutral turf field.”
This game marked the fifth time in the last eight years that Waterloo’s postseason run has ended with a loss in the district championship game.