In a hard-fought OHSAA Sectional Final at Bryan Recreation Park, the Bryan Golden Bears saw their postseason run come to a heartbreaking end Thursday night, falling to Bluffton 5-4 in a penalty shootout after a 1-1 draw through regulation and two overtime periods.
After a scoreless first half, Bryan struck first six minutes into the second half. Eric Koenig pushed the attack down the right side and found Alex Diaz in stride near the corner. Diaz sent a sharp cross to the middle, where Bryce Welling buried a shot into the upper-left corner of the net, just out of reach of the Bluffton goalkeeper, giving the Golden Bears a 1-0 lead.
Bluffton evened the score midway through the half, capitalizing on a free kick from near midfield. The lofted ball into the box was headed by a Bryan defender off the right post, and Bluffton pounced on the rebound to tie the game at 1-1.
Neither team could find the net in the final 25 minutes or through two 15-minute overtime periods, sending the match to a penalty shootout. In the decisive shootout, Bluffton edged Bryan 5-4 to advance to next week’s District Semifinal at Kalida High School.
The Golden Bears close their season with a 10-7 record.