By Roger Gordon

Correspondent

Kent Roosevelt’s 2-0 halftime lead quickly turned into a 4-0 advantage with two goals in the opening minute of the second half as the Kent Roosevelt girls soccer team triumphed 7-1 Oct. 21 at home over Lakewood in a Division II district semifinal.

Kent Roosevelt senior Hannah Hido advances the ball up the field during the Rough Riders’ tournament game against Lakewood.
Robin Golden/Special to Portage Sports

“After we scored our two first-half goals,” head coach Sammy Spicer said, “we kind of sat back a little bit and were getting a little sloppy, and Lakewood definitely picked up some steam. They were starting to connect and play pretty well. So, come halftime, we just talked about all the things we’d done well and all the ways we’d put the ball in the back of the net the entire season and just how we could continue to do that.”

When the Rough Riders scored the two goals early in the second half, they really took off.

Said Spicer, “We just needed a little reminder at halftime of all the things we do well and how we find success, and the players definitely found a way to get that done in the second half.”

Senior midfielder Gianna Yanelli paced Kent Roosevelt with four goals, while sophomore midfielder Maggie Pazderak contributed two goals and two assists.

“Gianna was dominant for us the entire year,” said the coach. “She was able to find the back of the net on many occasions multiple times in a game. She was just someone who could create opportunities for herself, but she was also able to play the ball off to someone and then find a space that would give her a good look at goal. Her ability to finish was top notch.

“Maggie has definitely found her role and found her niche on this team. She’s so young and has such a bright future. She’s someone who we heavily rely on to create opportunities by beating people one-v-one, but she’s also found a way in those one-v-ones to cut in an make her own opportunities, and she’s been able to finish quite a few of them. She was one of our assist leaders. She’s incredibly unselfish and is always giving people a perfect ball to easily put in the back of the net.”

Freshman midfielder Stella Haines scored a single goal.

Kent Roosevelt’s season came to a crashing conclusion five days later on Oct. 25 with an 8-0 loss to Hudson in a district final played at Rocky River.

The Rough Riders finished 10-6-3 on the season.

“Hudson is an incredible team,” Spicer said. “They’re record and who they’ve played speak for themselves. You hear all season long that Hudson is that good, and they truly are that good. They’re a great team for a group like ours to play just to kind of say, ‘Hey, you can also be this.’ But it’s going to take a lot of work, a lot of dedication and a lot of off-season work as well. Each player for Hudson was just so individually skilled, and they worked and connected so well together. As another coach watching, it was very inspiring and very tip-your-hat-to-them to see how well they play as a unit. They definitely are a great team. It was a great challenge for us. We have a lot of young players, so it was a good experience for them to see what can be done.”

According to Spicer, the Rough Riders are in a good spot concerning the future.

“This being my fourth year as head coach, it was the first year I had my group of seniors come through, so it was fully my program,” she said. “Everything we installed for day one four years ago has worked its way to the top now. It had a lot of promise from the get-go. I think each individual player, not only as an individual player but also has a team member, played her role. I couldn’t be prouder of how we navigated the season. There were a lot of highs and some lows and some lessons, but I think having the hardest schedule Roosevelt has seen in quite some time, especially in my four years, having on it Jackson, Green, Hoban, North Royalton, Hudson and some other top teams in Northeast Ohio, and competing is something to be incredibly proud of. Knowing that you worked so hard to compete with some of the best is a very rewarding moment, just to see everything that has been built and just to watch it unfold against some of the best.”

Losing three senior starters to graduation will leave a void, but they helped lay the foundation of a solid program.

“They did a great job of leading. The expectations have been set. They left such an impact,” said the coach. “I think every single year, we’ll keep rising to different levels, continue to compete with the best and hopefully get a couple wins against the best.”

STREETSBORO

The weather during Streetsboro’s 4-2 loss at Chardon Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin Oct. 21 in a Division III district semifinal was horrendous, and that’s putting it lightly. The Rockets finished the season with a 13-5 record.

“The conditions were maybe the craziest I’ve ever coached in in my 30 years of coaching,” head coach Ryan Willard said. “It was crazy windy and rainy. At times, I was holding my umbrella directly straight out at the field instead of over top of me to stop the rain coming horizontally across; I couldn’t even see the game going on. That’s what the girls were playing through, and ND-CL obviously handled it better than we did.”

Streetsboro actually took a 1-0 lead on a goal by junior forward Sara Koyan that eventually turned into a 1-1 tie at halftime.

“We had some chances in the first half that we didn’t quite take advantage of,” said Willard. “I thought we were the better team in the first half. NDCL, though, was the better team in the end. Once we got behind, playing for a tie is no good at this time of year. You’re looking to go for the win, so we continued to push forward, which opened some things up in the back, and ND-CL took advantage. They made a couple changes that certainly helped them, including shifting their best player to the outside instead of playing her in the middle. That made a difference for them. I was proud of my girls because they did not give up literally until the last whistle. They played hard.”

Senior midfielder Addison Mrakovich scored the Rockets’ other goal.

Five days earlier, on Oct. 16 at home, Streetsboro defeated Shaker Heights Laurel 4-0 in a sectional final.

“It took us a while to figure Laurel out,” said the coach. “They played a very defensive formation and were just trying to keep us from scoring. Every once in a while, they’d look to sprint forward, but for the most part, it was just pack it in and try to keep us out. I think we were almost too patient at first, trying to work the ball around, which allowed them to stay organized. Once we figured out what we needed to do, I was really proud of our girls that they started to execute to get our scoring opportunities. Our defense did a great job. Laurel really did not have too many high-quality chances.”

Koyan led the way with two goals.

“Sara was just phenomenal, especially the last third of the season,” Willard said. “She’s very dangerous down on the right side. She can take you on off the dribble, she can find the right pass when necessary and her decision-making just went to a whole different level this year, so you could see that kept her fruition the last couple weeks.”

Scoring a goal apiece were junior defender Morgan Vales and freshman forward McKenzie Montgomery. With an assist apiece were Mrakovich and junior defender Carman Marcini.

WATERLOO

It was a barnburner of a Division V district semifinal Oct. 22 between Waterloo and visiting Canton Central Catholic. The Vikings wound up falling 3-2 in finishing the season with a record of 12-5-2.

The Crusaders scored early in the whipping winds, but the home team responded to tie the score about midway through the first half on a nice give-and-go from sophomore forward

Alexis Henry to junior midfielder Julia Boyle. Central Catholic was able to tally a crucial goal very late in the first half to forge ahead 2-1 at the half.

“We tried to make a couple adjustments at halftime, came out in the second half, made a bad play, Central Catholic capitalized and got up 3-1,” head coach Bill Jackson said. “For the last 30 minutes, we controlled possession, we had the ball.”

Sophomore forward Koralee Jenior scored on a penalty kick to pull the Vikings within a single goal with about 21 minutes to go.

“We had the wind in the second half,” said Jackson. “We had so many chances the last 20 minutes but just could not find the back of the net.”

Seven days earlier, on Oct. 15 also at home, Waterloo defeated Leavittsburg LaBrae 8-0 in a sectional final that was called at halftime due to the eight-run mercy rule.

Pacing the Vikings were Henry with a hat trick and an assist, Jenior with two goals and two assists and senior midfielder Bayley English with a pair of goals and an assist. Boyle added a single goal.

“Alexis came out really aggressive and looked to get a shot and created space and found her driving lanes. She played really well,” the coach said. “Both Koralee and Bayley did a really good job playing off each other, all three of them honestly. They did a really good job of seeing the field, just got out into space and created opportunities for each other and shared the ball really well.”

It was a bumpy start to the season for Waterloo, but the Vikings worked hard, found their footing and had a successful season.

“They battled all year, did a great job,” said Jackson. “Sometimes things don’t go the way you want at the end. I’m proud of them for winning the [Mahoning Valley Athletic] conference and winning the sectional championship. We’re only losing two starters to graduation, so I expect we should hit the ground running next season. Some girls who didn’t play a ton coming off the bench this past season I expect to take on bigger roles next year. I think next year we have a chance to compete at a high level. The goal for us is to always be playing in November. Everyone wants to go to state, that’s the goal. They want to get to the final four.”

AURORA

Numbers can be deceiving.

A perfect example was Aurora’s 2-1 loss at home to Canfield Oct. 21 in a Division III district semifinal. The Greenmen, who finished the season with an 11-6-2 record, outshot the Cardinals by a huge 21-3 margin.

“Two of Canfield’s shots by the same girl went in,” head coach Domenica McClintock said. “She was the one who we told our players, ‘She can’t roam free.’ She’s a force to be reckoned with. Her motor keeps running, and she puts the ball in the back of the net.

“We dominated the bulk of possession. You’ve got to be able to put it away when you have the opportunities, and we just weren’t able to do that. We had plenty of chances. They scored the winning goal late in the second half.”

Senior attacker Elakia Vadivalen scored Aurora’s only goal, which was assisted by classmate Olivia Leon, a right midfielder.

Five nights earlier, on Oct. 16 also at home, Aurora defeated Tallmadge 4-0 in a sectional final. The Greenmen owned the possession time.

“We did really well dominating within the midfield,” said McClintock.

Senior holding midfielder Abby Dalessandro led the way with a hat trick. That was not surprising considering she was Player of the Year for both Portage County and the Suburban League American Conference.

“When we were finding it tough to find the back of the net, we actually moved Abby around a couple of places and even put her on top. That’s what started the first goal,” the coach said. “She was able to open our scoring capabilities by moving her up top, and then we moved her into the back. We were able to do that because of understanding Tallmadge’s strengths and weaknesses. Playing them earlier in the year gave us that flexibility. However, you don’t always get that opportunity with the tougher teams that come down the pike.

“Abby was instrumental in getting us on the scoreboard and then maintaining and continuing throughout the game. She had more goals and assists this year than she did in years past, so her ability to have a calming presence in our midfield while also having a presence both on the attack and defense was absolutely huge and pivotal. She’ll leave big shoes to fill.”

Vadivalen scored the Greenmen’s other goal. Sophomore left back Izzy Savukas dished out two assists, while Leon and junior attacking midfielder Bella Sferry each had a single assist.

“Izzy has the ability to come out of the back and make plays and scoring opportunities,” said McClintock. “Her ability both on and off the ball really allowed us to do the things we were doing against Tallmadge.”

Aurora began the season with two tough defeats to quality teams but rebounded nicely.

“The players used that adversity to help them grow throughout the season to essentially prepare themselves for tournament time,” McClintock said. “They were peaking at the right opportunities, but I will be honest in that the program just lacked the ability to put it away when they had their opportunities, and that’s sometimes the big thing between wins and losses.”

The coach will lose eight seniors to graduation, prompting her to admit that next season will likely be a rebuilding year.

“We’ll come back with a lot of juniors who will have the ability to continue to grow and build within their own soccer journeys,” she said. “The underclassmen are going to have to really take it all in, regroup and rebuild.”

SOUTHEAST

It is not far-fetched to say that Grace Wheeler was the reason Southeast started the season 5-0. The sophomore forward scored 15 of the Pirates’ 27 goals during that span. She was injured early in game six, ending her season.

Not surprisingly, Southeast went on to lose that game to Salem; it is also not a shocker that the Pirates went 6-8 after losing Wheeler, an All-Ohio player a year ago as a freshman.

“We had to piece together ways to score, and I moved girls around,” head coach Dean Dunlavy said. “Everybody did what I asked, and by the end of the season we had a winning record (11-8).

Dunlavy’s squad picked up a 2-0 win Oct. 14 at home over Ravenna in a Division IV sectional final. Southeast dominated play and controlled possession but let the Ravens stay in the game throughout.

“We had the ball in Ravenna’s end all game long, had a lot of shots on goal,” said the coach.

Sophomore sweeper Leah Mesaros gave the Pirates a 1-0 halftime lead on a direct kick from at least 40 yards out.

“It was a great shot, their goalie bobbled the ball,” Dunlavy said. “She has a very strong leg, and I’ve encouraged her, when she has the opportunity, to let it fly, and she listened.”

Senior forward Sarah Craver scored the home team’s other goal in the second half from the top of the box.

“Sarah took a shot when I needed her to,” said Dunlavy.

A week later, on Oct. 21, Southeast was beaten 8-0 at Niles McKinley, the seventh- ranked team in the state in Division IV, in a district semifinal.

“Niles McKinley was really good,” the coach said. “They can shoot from distance, too. I’d say at least half of their goals were from outside the box on just rocket shots.”

ROOTSTOWN

It was a longshot, but senior Cloe Bengston’s long shot from 25 yards out in the second half was the game’s only score in Rootstown’s 1-0 win at Garrettsville Garfield Oct. 18 in a Division V sectional final.

“In the first half it was mostly back and forth,” head coach Jasmine Kemp said. “In the second half I put Cloe, a center back, up top. Within maybe three minutes she got the ball, took it  to the outside right and crossed it over into the back left of the net. She’s a versatile player. She can play up top, she can play defense, she can play midfield if we need her to. She’s not too selfish with the ball and makes sure everybody is achieving their goals. She’s a very good player and has really good leadership.

“After her goal, Cloe went back to center defense. Then we played possession of the ball to make sure Garfield didn’t have chances to score. They had only three or four shots on goal, but our goalkeeper, sophomore Addison Eownall, had a good game and helped Cloe out a lot. We also didn’t have many shots on goal.

“It was a really good, evenly-matched game.”

Four days later, on Oct. 22, Rootstown fell 8-0 at Creston Norwayne in a rainy, windy district semifinal that was called at halftime due to the eight-goal mercy rule.

The Rovers ended the season with an 8-11 record.

“We’re not used to playing on turf, but the girls did hold their composure,” said Kemp. “Norwayne is very dynamic. Their passes were incredible, their crosses, their speed up top … our girls are conditioned, but I don’t think they’re conditioned enough to keep up with Norwayne because they were making passes through the middle of the field, a whole bunch of give-and-gos, just getting past our defense quicker than we initially thought it was going to happen.”

The coach will lose five seniors to graduation but remains optimistic about next season.

“Our team will be young, but the potential they have … I’m very excited,” she said. “What they learned from this past season from the leadership and what they learned from practices, they’ll be able to carry it on into next year. I feel like we’ll have a better season next year.”