By Roger Gordon

Correspondent

After a slow start, Streetsboro pretty much controlled the first half of its game Oct. 8 at Field in a key battle for second place in the Metro Athletic Conference (MAC).

Problem was, the Rockets scored only a single goal by sophomore forward McKenzie Montgomery for a slim halftime lead. With the ball in the air, Montgomery headed it to herself behind the defenders and then ran onto it on the left side of the goal.

The Falcons’ goalkeeper started to come out, and then Montgomery started to come out and then placed the ball towards the back post of the net.

“It felt good to have a lead, especially since Field beat us the first time around,” head coach Ryan Willard said, “but a 1-0 lead is of course not super comfortable.”

The Falcons tied the score early in the second half. Then, about midway through the stanza, the Rockets were forced into competing with only 10 players the rest of the game.

However, Montgomery saved the day with her second — and the winning — goal with just more than 10 minutes left in the game off a fine punt by senior goalkeeper Morgan Novak.

Montgomery got the ball in between two defenders pretty even with her, and she kicked it in between them and just accelerated.

“McKenzie has good speed, but that’s not her best attribute as a player,” said Willard. “The way she accelerated between those two players to get herself free was pretty impressive, that she still had those kind of legs late in the game like that.”

Streetsboro hung on for the 2-1 win.

“Field had several opportunities late, including a couple corner kicks,” said the coach. “In fact, they had a really good shot literally in like the last two or three seconds that Morgan stopped. I was certainly nervous while the ball was in the air.”

The Rockets wound up with an 8-8-1 overall record and a 7-4 mark in the MAC.

Novak ended up with five saves.

“Morgan,” Willard said, “did a great job like she has all year, especially in those closing moments when you know Field is just pushing, pushing, pushing trying to get that tying goal. She made a couple big stops and got her hands on one of the corner kicks that was coming across, too. She was big for us down the stretch.”

Streetsboro will play at Parma Heights Holy Name in a Division III sectional final on Oct. 22 at 4:30 p.m.

“I think it’s going to be a pretty even game. I’m excited for it,” said Willard. “I do think we should be able to create some opportunities because our attack has definitely been getting better over the last couple of weeks.”

KENT ROOSEVELT

Here’s what Kent Roosevelt head coach Sammy Spicer said about Massillon Jackson, whom her team lost to 1-0 at home Oct. 12: “Jackson is at the next level, and it’s definitely a program that we’d like to emulate.”

Spicer’s squad was 14-2-1 overall in the regular season and won the Metro Athletic Conference going away with an 11-0 mark.

Apparently, Spicer has some pretty lofty goals for her team.

“Knowing that we’ve just started building this the last five years and having a 1-0 loss to Jackson is a huge gain,” she said. “The girls worked hard, but there’s still a lot of work to do to be able to compare ourselves to a program like Jackson’s. Ironically, we could’ve given more, and it would’ve been a different game. I don’t think we played our best to be honest. But to play our worst and keep the score at 1-0 speaks volumes as well.”

Junior goalkeeper Grace Schoenberger had a whale of a game with 11 saves.

“The one that Jackson scored was their best chance. I’d say the rest of them Grace handled pretty easily,” said the coach. “We had probably four legitimate opportunities to score, two in each half, but we just didn’t put the balls away. Our back line played really well. They were able to keep Jackson contained as much as possible, players like Carleigh Wiler, a sophomore, and Sophia Richards, a junior.”

Freshman midfielder Alyssa Hawthorne also performed well in defeat.

“Alyssa,” Spicer said, “was thrown into the mix when things weren’t going well and had to piece something together and attempt to get some rhythm going, and she stepped up and did really well. She did some dirty work in front of our goal just to hit some shots that were being deflected, but she also was able to intercept some passes and create some opportunities for forward Audrey Haines, a senior, or midfielder Maggie Pazderak, a junior.”

The Rough Riders will host Youngstown Ursuline in a Division III sectional final on Oct. 22 at 7 p.m.

“I definitely think the girls are pretty hungry,” Spicer said. “We were able to get to the district final last year against Hudson, but obviously that didn’t end up how we wanted it to. I do think that having that feeling of being there previously and having the season we’re having and having a big drive to go and win a district title … I think we’re just going to come in every game competitive and just look at the bigger picture of what we want to do as a team — win districts and get to regionals.”

AURORA

Not only did Aurora lose its first game of the season, 1-0 at home to Revere on Oct. 12, the Greenmen lost its grasp on first place in the Suburban League American Conference.

Aurora finished the regular season 11-1-3 overall and 5-1-1 in the conference.

The Minutemen scored the game’s lone goal with only 2 minutes remaining in the game.

“Revere broke through our defense,” head coach Rob Harrison said. “Our mark kind of lost her mark and she dribbled through the top of the box, cut right and hit the ball through a crowd. It slow rolled towards the far post and went in the goal.”

The home team had its chances but to no avail.

“We had a couple good shots on goal where we got in on the outside edge, but Revere’s. keeper made some good saves. We just couldn’t put any of them away,” said Harrison. “I told the girls that it was a learning lesson of how we need to play and what we need to do and things we need to adjust going into the playoffs. We’ll adjust what we need to and move on.”

Goalkeepers Kelly Gerlock, a senior, and Leah Wolf, a sophomore, had three saves each.

“The keepers have been a bright spot for us,” said the coach. “They’re the reason our record is what it is. We hadn’t allowed a goal in the previous four games. With our defense and our keepers, we’re doing a good job of holding people either scoreless or to one goal.” Aurora will host the Madison-Grafton Midview winner in a Division III sectional final at 7 p.m. on Oct. 24.

“I expect our team to go as far as we want,” Harrison said. “As long as we go out there and give it our all, we have a chance to win our district, and Aurora has never won a district championship. We need to just keep playing game by game. We have to make sure we start locking in, start playing a little bit better, even in our first sectional game. We have to make sure we’re ready every game because you never know what will happen.

“The loss to Revere gave the players a chance to see what it would be like to lose and go home.”

FIELD

It was a great game between two good, evenly matched teams. One team had to win and Field was not that team.

The Falcons lost 2-1 Oct. 8 at home to Metro Athletic Conference rival Streetsboro in a key battle for second place in the conference. Field finished the regular season with a 12-4-1 overall record and an 8-2-1 MAC mark, good for second place and the third-most wins in a single season in school history.

The home team trailed 1-0 at halftime, but tied the score 2 minutes into the second half

when freshman striker Odessa Hottensmith scored on a cross from the left side by senior

midfielder Molly Murphy. After the Rockets forged back ahead, the Falcons had some pushes toward goal late in the game with a couple of opportunities that looked promising, but. Streetsboro’s defense was able to stop them just short.

“The girls gave great effort overall,” head coach Tom Nader said. “We had some really nice attacks in the first 10 minutes of the game and had a shot go off the post in that timeframe, but overall, we struggled to execute our gameplan the way we wanted to the rest of the first half. We started the second half with a renewed focus, which led to our game-tying goal. We have to give Streetsboro credit.”

Murphy added two more assists five nights later, on Oct. 13, in Field’s regular-season finale, a 3-1 home win over conference rival Norton, giving her 18 on the season (along with 23 goals). Her assists total is a single-season school record. The previous record was 13 set by Rachel Ruggles in 2021.

The Falcons will host Rocky River Oct. 22 at 7 p.m. in a Division III sectional final.

“We are excited for the postseason and the opportunity to continue our season together, to enjoy time together preparing and competing. This is a special group and a special team,” said

Nader. “We work hard to constantly evaluate how we are playing, so we have used our losses to Revere and Streetsboro as a continued opportunity to learn and improve. That is something our girls have been very good at this season. We are very proud of them for that.”

RAVENNA

It was a tale of two halves for Ravenna in a 4-2 loss at home Oct. 10 to Canton Central Catholic that left the Ravens with a final regular-season record of 5-10-2. The Ravens led 2-1 at the break.

“From an offensive standpoint, I think the second half we were just having more trouble capitalizing on our opportunities,” head coach Alaina Davis said. “I was hoping we were going to get another ball in the net on a few breakaways we had.”

Senior striker Nevaeh Marstiller scored both Ravenna goals, the first one that gave her team a 1-0 lead and the second that gave it a 2-1 halftime advantage.

On the first goal, Marstiller got the ball from attacking midfielder/forward Adelina Wunderle, hit it low and hard right past the goalkeeper. The second goal was off a corner kick.

The ball bounced around in the box for a bit, Marstiller got the ball from junior midfielder/forward Paige Boehlke and found the back of the net.

“Nevaeh is one of the best players on our team, and we’re going to miss her tremendously next year,” said Davis. “She’s very quick, has great speed. She’s not afraid to shoot the ball when it’s time. I was hoping she was going to have a hat trick that game, but we were having trouble later on finding her. She’s very much a utility player. We have her up there because oftentimes she’s our best chance at scoring. It’s difficult when maybe some games we don’t get her the ball as much because she is one of our best players, so we don’t want to take her out of the play. Sometimes we drop her back a bit just to make sure she’s touching the ball. She does so much for us.”

Ravenna’s starting goalkeeper was unable to play due to personal reasons, so sophomore Emelia Franklin, normally a center back, filled in for only her second game ever at that position but first with shots on her where she was tested. She totaled an amazing 20 saves.

“Emelia did phenomenal,” said the coach. “Again, she’s not a goalie, so it was pure athleticism. She’s an athlete.”

The Ravens will play at Massillon Tuslaw in a Division IV sectional final on Oct. 21 at 7 p.m. Davis’ squad is somewhat familiar with the Mustangs.

“We played them in our first scrimmage of the season, a 6-3 loss,” Davis said. “I think it will be interesting to see because we’ve improved since then, and I’m sure they have as well. We were missing Nevaeh for that scrimmage, so I’m interested to see how she makes an impact on

the game this time around. We’re going into it as the lower seed. We’re the underdog. We’ve got nothing to lose, and we can at least put up a fight against this team. It will be a lot of us preparing and talking as a team, making sure that confidence is there even if we’re not favored to win. We can still go out there and give it our all. Like I said, we’ve got nothing to lose.”

ROOTSTOWN

Rootstown’s slogan this season has been: “I got you and you got me and we got us.”

With a 6-9-2 final regular-season record, including a 10-1 defeat Oct. 12 at state-ranked Warren John F. Kennedy Catholic, head coach Tara Langston believes that rallying cry is the best — and only — way for her team to go forward into the postseason.

“I think, with the reality of our girls and their character and being there for each other,” Langston said, “really kind of gives us the feeling of ‘Hey, we’re going to be OK’.”

Scoring Rootstown’s only goal against the Eagles was center midfielder Elliott Smallfield.

The Rovers will play at Bristolville Bristol in a Division V sectional final on Oct. 21 at 4:30 p.m.

“Bristol is a tough team,” said Langston. “I think, doing our homework on this team, the girls will be able to identify their strengths and where we need to hone in on our defense. It’s just a matter of having the energy in the second half.”

GARFIELD

Garfield was a heavy underdogs heading into its game on Oct. 8 at Cuyahoga Heights.

After all, the G-Men had just a 2-10-2 record, while the Red Wolves were 13-2-1.

The visitors, however, put on quite a show for a good portion of the first half. They were in a scoreless tie with 15 minutes to go in the half.

Then disaster happened.

Senior midfielder Madi Seiler, one of Garfield’s main players, was injured, something the G-Men have, unfortunately, become accustomed to this season. Cuyahoga Heights scored four goals before halftime and then four more to hand Garfield an 8-0 defeat.

“We’ve had a lot of injuries, so it’s just trying to get people into different spots,” head coach Aaron Gilbert said. “As soon as Madi got hurt, everything kind of fell apart. We had to move some people around.”

Lack of might is another reason Garfield, which ended up with a 2-12-2 regular-season record, has had a rough season.

“We’ve been able to stay competitive against some of these better teams,” said Gilbert, “but we just don’t have the firepower to keep up once they start scoring goals.”

One bright spot was senior midfielder Becca Evans.

“She had a good game,” the coach said. “She played pretty well.”

The G-Men will play at Oberlin Firelands in a Division V sectional final on Oct. 22 at 7 p.m.

“Of the teams that were available, you try to take one that you think you have a chance to compete against,” Gilbert said. “I thought Firelands was one that gave us the best opportunity to have some success. They have a good record, but competition-wise we’ve had a pretty tough schedule that will have us prepared for a game against a team like that. We’ve got to defense up two of their players, and then we have to find somebody who will put the ball in the back of the net. If we can get a goal early, I think that might help us get some confidence. We definitely don’t want to give up a goal early with it being such a long road trip.”

CRESTWOOD

Crestwood head coach Scot Etling is hoping his players use their 11-0 regular season-ending home loss (with a running clock in the second half) Oct. 10 to Chagrin Valley Conference Valley Division rival Chagrin Falls as a learning opportunity.

“I mean as far as where we want to go,” he said. “Chagrin Falls is just a good team. They won the division by beating Kirtland, and Kirtland plays the right way. We’re hoping to emulate them going into next year.”

Guess who the Red Devils’ opponent is Oct. 20 at 7 p.m. on the road in a Division V sectional semifinal?

Kirtland.

“Our options for sectionals were travel a long way and play the No. 1 seed or play somebody that we’re familiar with like Kirtland,” said Etling, whose team finished with a 3-13-1 overall regular-season record and an 0-5 division mark. “Kirtland, though, is a three seed and is a good team.”