The Bluffton High School boys soccer team rolled over rival Riverdale 5-1 to win the Div. III district championship Saturday at Frost-Kalnow Stadium in Tiffin.
The victory avenged a district final upset loss to the Falcons a year ago almost to the day last Halloween.
Senior ace Jude Spallinger netted two goals to pace the Pirates.
Neither team dented the back of the net in the first 30 minutes. Spallinger started the scoring at the 31:40 mark on an assist by sophomore Nolan Hoffman.
The score stayed 1-0 at halftime and into the 48th minute.
Pirate Ben Hartzler made it 2-0 with an unassisted goal at the 47:24 juncture.
Spallinger then tallied consecutive goals on passes from Justin Good to extend the lead to 4-0.
He scored at the 49:43 mark and again at the 55-minute juncture to give Bluffton complete command.
Riverdale netted its lone goal 13:30 later. But Pirate Jonah Brown answered with a goal 69 seconds later to provide the final margin of four.
Bluffton placed 13 of its 18 shots on goal. Riverdale mustered just two shots, both on goal, against the stingy Pirate defense.
Kaden Basil made one save in goal.
With the win, the top-seeded Pirates improved their record to 15-3-2 and advanced to the round of 16 in the regional semifinals.
The Falcons end up 8-7-4 after the loss.
Bluffton won the rubber match in their third straight district final showdown vs. Riverdale.
Bluffton triumphed 1-0 in OT in 2019, but the Falcons returned the favor with a a 1-0 upset last season to end the unbeaten Pirate season.
The Pirates won 3-2 at Riverdale in their regular season meeting October 2. Spallinger broke a 2-2 tie on a penalty kick goal with just six seconds remaining.
The Pirates advance to the regional semifinals November 2/3 at a site to be announced against Ottawa Hills. Top-seeded OH (12-2-4) won the Toledo district finals over Delta 8-0 Saturday.
At OH October 7, Bluffton tied the Green Bears 1-1 on a late goal by Hoffman.
