KALIDA – Columbus Grove clinched their second title in three days on Wednesday evening as they wrapped up a Putnam County League championship with a 3-1 victory at Kalida’s Mark Czubik Field.
Monday night the Bulldogs defeated Crestview to claim their first Northwest Conference title and followed it up on this night by adding the county championship to the trophy case.
Columbus Grove kicked off the scoring with 33:42 remaining in the opening half of play as a ball from freshman scoring sensation Lauryn Auchmuty found teammate Kenzie King just in front of the Kalida net and past Wildcat sophomore keeper Kassidy Hipsher for the first point of the contest.
Hipsher found herself faced with a penalty kick thanks to a handball call late in the first half but made a highlight reel save to keep her team within a goal as she stopped the Grove shot by pinning it against the pipe and keeping it from crossing the goal line.
A fast and physical game carried the same 1-0 margin into and through the halftime break and into the second half before the host Wildcats evened up the contest.
Sophomore Audra Hovest sent a shot past Grove keeper Gwen Langhals and into the net with 26:33 to go that gave the home fans an opportunity to cheer loudly for their Wildcats.
Lauryn Auchmuty broke through for her 34th marker of the season as a rush by Columbus Grove on the opponent net gave her an opportunity to blast a shot in at 10:35 for a 2-1 visitors lead.
Columbus Grove’s final tally of the game came with 6:20 to go as Auchmuty connected for her second goal of the evening and fifth in the past two contests to push the Bulldogs ahead 3-1.
Kalida sees their regular season end with a 7-8-2 mark while the Bulldogs finish with a 13-1-1 record and their first victory in five tries against their Putnam County League rivals.
Tournament play kicks off next week for both squads as Kalida will host Ottoville on Tuesday at 5:00 P.M. and the Bulldogs wait until Thursday at 5:00 P.M. to take on the winner of Allen East vs Delphos Jefferson.
“It’s great to beat a proven program on the road, we will enjoy this one but we can see playing them again later on in the tournament” opined Grove head coach Chris Halker.
Goals:
33:42 – Kenzie King (CG)
26:33 – Audra Hovest (KAL)
10:35 – Lauryn Auchmuty (CG)
6:20 – Lauryn Auchmuty (CG)