O-G soccer celebrates like it's 1999

SHAWNEE - It was senior night at Shawnee, but Ottawa-Glandorf sophomore Andrew Trentkamp put a damper on that. He netted a goal with 1 minute, 13 seconds remaining in the first half that proved to be the difference as the Titans defeated Shawnee 2-0 in Western Buckeye League action last night.

The win gives the Titans (12-0-3, 8-0-1 WBL) the league championship.

Trentkamp slipped behind the Shawnee (14-3-1, 7-2 WBL) defense and knocked home a pass from Eric Brickner from about 10 yards out. Shawnee goalkeeper Austin Howard could not deflect the shot.

"We finally figured out the flat-back four," Ottawa-Glandorf coach Mike Weihrauch said. "It took us 30 minutes to do it. It was a beautifully played-through ball in behind one of the center defenders, and he just poked it in the near side. That was huge. We played terribly in the first half and all that credit goes to Shawnee. They outplayed us in the first half."

Shawnee nearly evened the score with 13 seconds left in the half, but Nathan Aller's shot flew past Ottawa-Glandorf goalkeeper Nick Leatherman and hit the cross bar.

"I could not be prouder of them," Shawnee coach Dick Hagen said. "I thought we played really hard. We possessed the ball very well in the first half, controlled things and got want we wanted, but we were just unable to finish."

For the game Shawnee out shot Ottawa-Glandorf 10-6.

The Titans got an insurance goal with 30:27 left in the game when Brickner put his name in the school record book. The senior dribbled across the penalty box, used his left foot and beat several Shawnee defenders. His goal was the 49th of his career, tying the school record.

"Anybody that has followed us all year has grown to expect that," Weihrauch said. "I couldn't be more proud for him. It is kind of fitting that it's in a big game."

Hagen said, "We were beat on two really great shots. The second one was really outstanding. There were three or four guys hanging on the guy when he scored."

It was O-G's third WBL title and the first since 1999. Shawnee had won the WBL the previous two seasons

"We've had some battles," Weihrauch said about his 12 years as coach. "We watched them celebrate a league championship on our field last year. I think this is the first time I have won on this field against Shawnee."