Wingfield scores go-ahead goal as KHS rallies to stun Upper Sandusky

By SEAN BLEVINS

Times sports editor

When the Kenton boys soccer team plays simple soccer, good things happen.

The Wildcats (2-0-1) might just be a second half team. Sophomore forward Gus Wingfield rose to the occasion, scoring the go-ahead goal with 4:37 left in his first game back from suffering a dislocated hip injury in Saturday’s come-from-behind 4-2 win over Upper Sandusky at Merold Field. Wingfield followed that up with an assist to senior forward Luis Fernando with 1:21 to go to cap the three-goal second half rally.

“The interesting thing was we were moving the ball around well early,” Kenton coach Jamie Bartlett said. “The game plan was to play simple soccer, and I felt like we weren’t playing it. Instead of finding the open pass and putting guys into lanes to be dangerous going to goal, we were taking on the center of the pitch players. Those are some dudes that work really hard. We wanted to combine around them. When we went down 2-0 we weren’t playing terrible soccer, we just weren’t playing smart.”

Two defensive breakdowns helped the Rams (0-3) take a 2-0 lead less than 16 minutes into the first half.

Caleb Arter, a sophomore forward, received a pass and ripped a hopper of a shot off the left post from outside the box with 28:27 left in the first half to get Upper Sandusky on the board.

The second goal from the Rams at the 24:33 mark of the first half was even more unexpected, coming off of an apparent miscommunication between Kenton junior goalkeeper Ayson Scott and the Wildcat defense. Senior Connor Beidelschies slotted it into an open net from a few yards out once he got in behind the Kenton defense.

“That’s kind of how the last two games have gone for us,” Upper Sandusky coach John Searfoss said. “Last game we scored three goals in the first half. First game we had two goals in the first half. It’s a tale of two halves. We go up the second half and we just seem to run out of steam. We just can’t connect passes and we give up a lot of goals in the second half.

“Connor was a forward for us last year. This year he’s taking a role in the defense if he has too and in the midfield. He’s doing everything. He’s keeping us in games. The younger ones are slowly getting there.”

Scott was subbed out for sophomore Hayden Holland immediately after, and the switch paid off. Both Scott and Holland made two saves.

“Hayden’s work rate is off the charts,” Bartlett said. “We love watching that kid give us his all. It brings a smile to my face to know he went out there and pitched a shutout. The guys know what he brings to the table. He brings the effort. It was really fun to see him rewarded with the shutout.”

The Wildcats were able to get one back with 20:29 left in the first half on a beautiful soaring corner kick header goal from junior midfielder Micah Bowman, taken by junior wing-back Marlon “The Honduran Wonderkid” Lopez.

The second half was all Kenton. The Wildcats created chance after chance, while Upper Sandusky’s offense never threatened Holland.

Sophomore midfielder Alex Miller layered a ball over the Upper Sandusky defense for Fernando, who got a foot on it right in front of the keeper to touch it past him for a simple finish into a wide-open net in a moment of brilliance for the equalizer with 26:57 remaining in the game.

“What can I say about Luis, he has such a creative flair to his game,” Bartlett said. “That goal that he took a touch from Alex around the keeper and volleyed it into the back of the net was amazing. Each game he’s come through for us with a goal. He brings a nice dynamic to our team. That’s the second time in a row that I thought we had a little more gas in the tank. We wanted it. This game has sectional implications.”

Bowman hit the side netting on a shot two minutes later. Fernando followed that up with two attempts at goal, one of them an ambitious volley that was blocked by an Upper Sandusky defender that had to go off the pitch in the 62nd minute because of how hard it was hit.

Kenton was knocking on the door at that point. Wingfield smacked the post on a breakaway with exactly 11 minutes on the clock.

Lopez threaded a through ball to Wingfield for the go-ahead goal to make it 3-2 Kenton at the 4:37 mark, which came on the second effort after a good save from Upper Sandusky sophomore goalkeeper Troy Hoffbauer.

“It’s just so nice to have him, even in a limited role minutes-wise right now,” Bartlett said about Wingfield. “You see what he brings to the team with his offensive creativity, his speed, his ability to combine. He’s got a highly intelligent soccer IQ. It’s unfortunate that he did hit the post that would have given us the 3-2 lead. But he stayed with it, got another crack at it and made sure that he didn’t miss that time. He will be a welcome addition.”

Lopez came through again with a through ball to Wingfield, who slid it to Fernando for the fourth goal with 1:21 to go. Fernando earned Kenton Times Man of the Match honors and sits at four goals on the season now.

Kenton plays at Ottawa-Glandorf Thursday at 7 p.m.