Swanton Bulldogs Soccer Sets School Record for Wins in a Season
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Bulldog senior Evan Reinhard had a goal and two assists to lead Swanton to a hard-fought 3-2 road victory over a feisty Delta Panther team on Tuesday afternoon at Panther Stadium. The win brought Swanton’s total to 13 on the year and broke the school record for victories in one season with at least two more matches to play.
However, despite Delta struggling with a 0-5 NWOAL record entering the contest, Coach KJ Abair’s Panthers gave the heavily favored Bulldogs everything they could handle. “We underestimated them and it showed. They played like a top contender for the league today,” remarked Bulldog Head Coach Ronnie Rico.
In fact, throughout an evenly played first half, it was Delta that jumped out in front 1-0 with a Casey Michalak goal around the 24-minute mark. The score held for several minutes until Reinhard drove a free-kick past the right side of Panther goalie Zeek Kramer for the 1-1 tie.
Not long after, Delta’s Wyatt York was awarded his own free-kick and fired a laser just over the outstretched hand of Bulldog keeper Landon Hendricks, giving the Panthers back the lead at 2-1. Before the end of the half, a Brendan Upham goal off an assist from Reinhard, brought the Bulldogs even again at 2-2 and the team went to the break still tied.
The second half began with a much more aggressive Swanton offense that attacked the Delta defense and pelted the Panther goal with shot after shot. Kramer turned in a brilliant performance in goal overall for Delta, but at the 33:11 mark, Bulldogs’ top scorer, Eli Bolyard drilled a low shot into the back of the net for his school-record 38th of the season and a 3-2 Swanton lead.
The visitors continued their assault on goal for the rest of the match, hoping to add a cushion to their slim advantage, but Kramer was equal to the task and kept his team in the game until the final whistle. “We usually start off slow but once it hits halftime, we get going,” said Reinhard who also serves as one of Swanton’s team captains. “Whenever one of us scores it’s like a domino effect and usually we all score. We all play our part. We all get an assist and we all cheer each other on.”
Team play has been a consistent part of the senior (10) loaded Bulldogs’ success as Reinhard alluded to. “Evan Reinhard. What can I say. That kid speaks for himself out there. Just the way he’s out there, he’s that way on the bench, on the bus, at practice, in school. He holds everybody accountable, including himself,” explained Coach Rico on the contributions of #23.
Along with the 13 victories this season, Swanton only has two losses and one tie. “I think the hard work the kids put in day in and day out every practice. Nobody slacks. There is accountability. There were kids that stepped up to different roles that they weren’t comfortable with. Obviously, a couple freshmen that are in the system now gave us some valuable touches on the field,” said Rico breaking down the reasons for the Bulldogs’ achievements in 2026.
Swanton (13-2-1/4-1) travels to Wauseon this Saturday to take on the Indians (7-6-1/1-4) in the final regular season game. A win will guarantee an outright second place finish in the NWOAL behind the Bryan Golden Bears. The Bears defeated the Bulldogs 3-2 on a penalty kick earlier this season. On Thursday, October 22nd, Swanton will welcome in the Lake Flyers for an OHSAA Division IV Sectional match.
Click on the link above to access photos from the match. Photos are in the jpeg format to allow for editing and can be downloaded and shared for NO CHARGE courtesy of the fultoncountymedia.com website.
