OBERLIN — Only two minutes and 36 seconds into Tuesday’s match, Oberlin was up a goal and on its way to a 2-0 win over Lake Ridge in a Division III district tournament semifinal.

Oberlin (12-4-2) travels to Wellington at 1 p.m. Saturday for the district championship. Wellington ousted Columbia, 1-0, in its district semifinal Tuesday. During the regular season, Wellington beat Oberlin 4-0.

“But that was when we had a lot of our regulars on vacation in Vegas,” Oberlin coach Matt Fox said. “We’ll do a lot better this time.”

Senior Caleb Kudlo, who had both assists for Oberlin, echoed his coach’s opinion: “I think we can do a lot better against them on Saturday.”

As for Tuesday’s win, Kudlo liked his team’s energy.

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“We came out tonight with everything we had,” said Kudlo, who has seven assists on the season. “I wanted to play with intensity because it could have been my last game.”

It was a stunner when the winners scored their first goal so early, especially since the game was played on a bumpy turf that made passing difficult. The field was filled with numerous pock marks caused by some rainy football games recently.

Junior Aidan McNulty scored the goal, only his second of the year because he seldom started before Tuesday’s match.

“It was a last-minute decision to start him,” Fox said. “We thought he added energy to our lineup. The quick goal was important to us because we wanted to come out strong. Everybody played well tonight. We found ways to exploit their (Lake Ridge) back defense on the left side.”

McNulty’s goal came on a short shot from the middle of the field with 37:24 remaining in the first half.

Oberlin made it 2-0 with 11:43 left in the opening half when Daniel Buhlosa connected on a shot from 20 yards out after he got a good pass from Kudlo on a breakaway down the right side. It was the junior forward’s 12th goal of the season.

Both teams failed to score in the last half even though Oberlin had five shots on goal and Lake Ridge two.

“It was a well-played game,” said Lake Ridge coach Everett Polachi, whose Lions lost 1-0 to the Phoenix during the regular season. “We got some unlucky breaks and made some defensive mistakes. I think tonight was a good case of a home-field advantage helping Oberlin, who had more experience playing on this bumpy field.”

Oberlin 2, Lake Ridge 0

• GOALS: (O) Aidan McNulty, Daniel Buhlosa
• ASSISTS: (O) Caleb Kudlo 2
• SHOTS: Oberlin 15, Lake Ridge 14
• SHOTS ON GOAL: Oberlin 9, Lake Ridge 3
• CORNER KICKS: Oberlin 2, Lake Ridge 1
• HALFTIME: Oberlin, 2-0

Contact Jerry Rombach at 329-7137 or ctsports@chroniclet.com.

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