Kalida 2 Bluffton 2

Tuesday was a perfect night for soccer with clear skies and cool temperatures when Kalida visited Bluffton for a late season contest.  Two traditionally strong programs with veteran coaching staffs. Lots of very good talent on the field for both sides. A large crowd was on hand at Steinmetz field to enjoy the action and they would not be disappointed.

A mere :36 into the match Kalida's Ian Richey put the Wildcats up 1-0  with a blast from 10 yards out at the near post. Bluffton goalkeeper Joseph Schriner was remarkably able to get a hand on the shot, but the ball deflected past him into the goal. Richey was played in behind the defense by Devin Kortokrax with a diagonal pass to the left wedge. A beautiful pass that defeated a least 3 defenders.  Richey received with his left foot cutting the ball back against a defender and then ripped the shot with his right foot.



Just four minutes later Richey had another opportunity from in front of the goal at a distance of 20 yards. He played another well struck shot towards goal but this time Schriner was up to the task, Kalida would continue to play much of the early portion of the game pressuring the Bluffton defenders.

As the match progressed the Pirates attack began to assert itself as they began finding the feet of Stephen Taratkov who is one of the more dynamic players in the region. He is so very dangerous on the ball and draws so much attention that it frees his teammates up to make plays. This is exactly what happened in the games 16th minute. Bluffton penetrated deep into Kalida's defending third and were able to get a couple of shots off that were both turned away by Wildcat defenders. A  blind clearance came straight to the feet of the Pirates Cole Harlow who blasted a low line drive at goal from a distance of 30 yards out. The ball was struck so hard it was in on Kalida goalkeeper Brent Hovest before he could get his hands extended. The ball got in on Hovest's arms and deflected into the goal to even the score at 1 - 1.

The second half started with Kalida kicking off but Bluffton quickly seizing control of the match. In the matches 50th minute Bluffton forward Ryan Sprague played a short pass to Harlow who hit a one touch left footed toe poke from the left side of the goal into the upper 90 at the back post. On a night of solid hard shots on goal this was as good as any of them.

Devin Kortokrax answered almost immediately for the Wildcats as he won a loose ball 35 yards out from goal on the right side of the pitch. On his next touch Kortokrax unleashed a rocket shot that started out knuckling before beginning to spin as it approached goal. The action of the ball froze Pirate goalkeeper Schriner in his tracks. The path of the ball carried it into the net at the near post.  My vantage point was almost directly in line with the path of the ball and so I can attest to their being the type of wicked nasty action that occurs when a ball is struck dead center. Just a heck of a shot.

The action continued to be fast and furious throughout the second half. Both goalkeepers would be called upon to make solid saves  in support of their defenses. In the games 53rd minute Hovest cleanly fielded a low line drive off a Bluffton direct free kick from a distance of 30 yards on the right flank. In the 66th minute of the contest Richey got free down the left flank from where he cut the ball back with his left foot and played a beautiful right footed cross onto a teammates head directly in front of the Pirates goal. Schriner was able to corral that attempt to keep the match even at 2-2.

As the game entered its 74 minute Stephen Taratkov took matters into his own hands in a blitzkrieg reminiscent of the display he put on  against Shawnee last Saturday afternoon. In a span of less than 3 minutes Taratkov had three really good chances that had the Kalida defense scrambling. The first chance came off a chip cross Ryan Sprague played in from the left end line. Taratkov headed it toward goal from 8 yards out at the near post. Hovest made the save. Less than 30 seconds later Taratkov sent a laser toward goal from 30 yards out that Hovest was able to field cleanly. Less than a minute later Adam Wannamacher played a bangoo cross from the right end line that Taratkov again sent towards goal only to have Hovest make the save. A very exciting sequence of shots by Taratkov and saves by Hovest!

On the night Harlow stole the show for Bluffton with 2 fantastic goals.  Schriner was very solid in goal for the Pirates while Taratkov demonstrated why he is one of the best players in the region.

Kalida defenders Andrew Krouse and Luke Langhals (among others) did an outstanding job man-marking Taratkov all over the field.  While they were unable to deny him the ball on a regular basis they did a masterful job limiting his shot attempts for most of the evening. Hovest was the star of the game for Kalida as he came up with at least 6 saves to keep his team in this match. 

I thoroughly enjoyed myself watching these two very good teams go at one another tonight.  It was a clean, well played game with great plays on both sides of the ball from both teams. Thanks for a great evening of soccer gentlemen and Good Luck to both teams in the tournament!