Perrysburg junior forward Camille Francis celebrates her game-winning overtime goal during a 1-0 victory over Dublin Coffman Saturday. (Photo by Lisa Sadowski)
MARYSVILLE — Perrysburg junior forward Camille Francis scored on a breakaway in overtime to give the Yellow Jackets a 1-0 Division I regional final victory over Dublin Coffman at Marysville High School’s Impact Stadium Saturday.
The 10th-ranked Yellow Jackets, 15-4-1, will advance to the state final four to face a familiar foe in undefeated top-ranked Cuyahoga Falls Walsh Jesuit (20-0) in a 7 p.m. semifinal Tuesday at Marengo Highland High School.
Walsh Jesuit defeated Strongsville, 3-0, to reach the state final four, but both Walsh and Strongsville defeated Perrysburg during the season, so no matter who won that game, the Yellow Jackets were looking forward for their chance to get revenge.
Strongsville defeated Perrysburg, 2-1, and Walsh downed the Yellow Jackets, 2-0, but they were two completely different games.
“We wanted a rematch against any of the two,” Perrysburg coach Jorge Diaz said. “That was why we scheduled the games that we scheduled because we knew that we might face them along the line. Then we just need to look at film.
“Against Strongsville, we played our worse game, against Walsh we played our best game, but they are amazing teams.”
First, the Yellow Jackets had to figure out how to get past Coffman (13-3-3), a team very similar to the Yellow Jackets in the way they position players.
One element in Perrysburg’s favor — the pitch at Impact Stadium was a full 80 yards wide, more than most high school soccer fields, which favors a faster team like the Yellow Jackets, especially in a marathon game.
“Our team, we’re so athletic,” Francis said. “Everyone works so hard every day preparing for this. We honestly like a huge field because we like playing wide. We have a lot of fast people to play those balls inwards, so it honestly worked out great for us.”
Perrysburg outshot Coffman, 21-14, including 15-7 in shots on goal, but the play of Perrysburg sophomore goalkeeper Tori Trzcinski and Coffman senior GK Addison Bohman and their defense kept the game scoreless through regulation.
“We worked hard to figure out this team,” Diaz said. “They play in the same formation we do. It took 20 to 25 minutes to kind of get it settled.
“We had a couple of opportunities, but they had a very good goalie, and we couldn’t finish. The second half was an intense half, and their goalie kept them in the game, and Tori was also an amazing athlete for us today.
“We’ve been practicing that we might take it to overtime or PKs, so I was trying to rotate a couple of my forwards to keep them fresh all the way through, and we’re excited with the result.”
In the fourth minute of overtime, Perrysburg senior midfielder Grace Langendonk sent a pass to the speedy Francis, who beat a defender and the keeper to score the game-winner.
Anyone who has seen Francis play, and saw that play develop, had a feeling the game-winner was seconds away, but still Francis had to execute.
“It was a great ball, and right behind me the center (back) was caught too high and I just kept composure and just finished right side,” Francis said. “I just knew I needed to compose it down if it was bouncing and everything. I knew if I finished it, the game’s over and then we win, and so I just kept my composure and placed it right.”
Diaz had a similar feeling when Francis came down the left side toward the net, but he was thinking “composure”, too.
“I said just be calm and collect, clear it in the goal, and she did,” Diaz said. “She’s an amazing soccer player right now. It is awesome.”
At the other end, Trzcinski, who had saved seven shots, did not realize what had happened until her teammates began celebrating.
“I was so happy. I didn’t even know that the game was over,” Trzcinski said. “I thought we still had to play two more (15-minute overtime) halves. I was so happy when I saw the whole bench running, I started sprinting.”
While Trzcinski had half as many saves as Bohman (14), both had diving stops to keep the game scoreless for 80-plus minutes. Diaz could not believe with her own eyes one key second half save that Trzcinski made.
“I thought that they already had the score, and then she just came out of nowhere,” Diaz said. “Fortunately, they only had one player (in position) with that play, and we were able to get a little bit of a bounce on the ball (to clear). It was amazing.”
Francis added, “Tori is a great goalie. She saved us so many times. I mean, both (regional) games, and our defense has been playing amazingly. They are stopping every ball, they are protecting Tori, and when little slip-ups happen, Tori is there to defend.”
Trzcinski, humbly like any good athlete, credits her defenders, calling herself the secondary and final stop on any shot.
“It’s all about trust. We trust in each other, and we all have trust,” Trzcinski said. “They say to me so many times that I’m just there for backup.”
Plus, Trzcinski adds, they had a scouting report on the Rocks, which helped.
“We knew we had to keep the play wide. We knew they played well in the middle, so our midfield had to step up,” Trzcinski said.
Trzcinski recorded a clean sheet in both regional games. Perryburg defeated another Dublin school, Jerome, 2-0 in the regional semifinal last Tuesday.
If the Yellow Jackets can avenge their loss to Walsh Jesuit next Tuesday, they will play in the state championship game against the winner of Springboro and Cincinnati Seton at another 80-foot wide pitch, Historic Crew Stadium in Columbus at 7 p.m. on Saturday, November 9.
