Perrysburg sophomore Kinsley Jones (4), left, knocks down a pass during a regional final soccer match against Strongsville on Strobel Field at Cedar Point Stadium in Sandusky. Strongsville defeated Perrysburg 1-0. (Scott W. Grau/Sentinel-Tribune)
SANDUSKY — Perrysburg girls soccer had four solid chances to score, but missed two clean breakaway shots and two shots hit the crossbar as the Yellow Jackets fell to Strongsville, 1-0, in a Division I regional final at Cedar Point Stadium Saturday.
The No. 4-ranked Jackets see their season end at 20-1-1 while the No. 1-ranked Mustangs (17-1-2) advance to the state final four.
Twice on breakaways, the Yellow Jackets front line forced Strongsville senior goalkeeper Abby Kudla away from the net, and all it would have taken was a poke at the goal, but both shots just missed.
In addition, Perrysburg’s standout sophomore forward Emma Ogdahl had two shots between 20 and 30 yards that caught the top crossbar. A few inches lower, and either would have been over Kudla’s head and found the back of the net.
“Both (sophomore midfielder) Camille (Francis) and Emma had good chances and the rest of our crew had good chances,” said Perrysburg coach Jorge Diaz.
“Our crew on the front, (freshman striker Lauren) McConnachie and (freshman striker) Elyza Byrd, did a great job. Off the bench, (freshman defender) Kendyl Mefferd came over and almost scored in the second half, but the goalie made an incredible save.”
Perrysburg outshot Strongsville, 9-8, and each team had five shots on goal, but the Yellow Jackets controlled possession the first 20 minutes of the match but were unable to capitalize.
Meanwhile, Strongsville depended on its defense, as both teams did during a 0-0 regular season draw the two teams played on the Mustang’s pitch during the regular season. Once they had the 1-0 lead, the Mustangs increased their defensive pressure.
“They are the No. 1 team in the state, so as soon as they scored they dropped a defensive center mid and made it more difficult for us to get in the middle,” Diaz said.
“We also panicked a little bit and started play a little bit more direct instead of controlling the ball, and they are a little bit bigger and taller than us, so they are going to win some of those 50-50 balls.”
Perrysburg’s offense was so successful, except for not scoring, that they forced Kudla to take 15 goal kicks and punts in the firat half while Perrysburg senior starting keeper Elizabeth Motter and her back line needed just four. In addition, Kudla could boot a kick past midfield, always putting the Jackets on thier heels.
It did not help that 13 fouls were whistled on the Yellow Jackeets, while the Mustangs, who were bigger, older, and more physical, had just eight fouls.
The only goal came when Strongsville senior Macy Felton went into the right corner, sent a cross left, and junior Julia Scally found it, one-timing the ball into the net with 1:21 remaining in the first half.
Perrysburg will graduate just two seniors, defenseman Ashlyn Haeft and midfielder Avary Zeisloft, both starters.
“Avary has been a tremendous leader and a tremendous player,” Diaz said. “She’s the one who helps distributes some of the scores from Emma and Camille throughout the season.
“Ashlyn Haeft has been a tremendous defender. She stepped in when (her teammates) were sick or injured, and she did a tremendous job as a leader and a player. We had 13 shutouts throughout the season, and Ashlyn and our keepers have been a tremendous part of that.”
Perrysburg will return their two top scorers, Ogdahl and Francis, the Northern Lakes League Buckeye Division and Northwest District Player of the Year.
Ogdahl led the offense with 61 points on 25 goals and 11 assists and Francis had 50 points on 20 goals and 10 assists.
“Camille and Emma have been tremendous all year long. They are the reason why we have so many succcess in terms of scoring,” said Diaz, who was voted the NLL and Northwest District Coach of the Year.
Also returning are both keepers, who split halves in virtually every game this season. Against Strongsville, Motter had four saves in the first half, and in the second half, freshman Tori Trzcinski also had four saves. Trzcinski finished the season with 51 saves while Motter had 37.
Perrysburg won the NLL Buckeye Divsion championship with an 8-0 record, followed by Anthony Wayne (6-2) and a three-way tie at the cellar between Sylvania Northview, Findlay and Toledo Whitmer, all finishing 2-4-2.
First team All-NLL choices for the Jackets are Francis, Ogdahl, Zeisloft, and junior midfielder Grace Langendonk. Zeisloft, Francis and Ogdahl were also first team Northwest District and Langendonk was second team.
Second team All-NLL selections are Haeft, sophomore defender Kinsley Jones, and McConnachie. The speedy McConnachie, known for her crosses from the corners leading to goals, was third on the team in scoring with five goals and 17 assists and Zeisloft had five goals and 13 assists.
Also scoring for Perrysburg this year were junior forward Alexis Kaufold (seven goals, three assists), sophomore midfielder Adyson Brown (seven goals, one assist), Byrd (four goals, seven assists), and Mefferd (five goals, two assists).
Langendonk had two goals and eight assists, sophomore midfielder Sophie Mitchell had four goals and three assists, junior forward Eliza Williamson had four goals and three assists, and Haeft had three goals and two assists.
Jones and Motter had one goal and one assist apiece, scoring one goal each were Trzcinski, freshman forward Alexis Perry, junior defender Kendollyn Sadowski, and dishing one assist apiece were sophomore defender Lexi Decker and junior defender Amaya Peterson.
