Warriors turned in a season to remember
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HEATH -- The greatest girls soccer season in Mahoning County history ended with a run-in with a Cincinnati-area powerhouse on Tuesday in a Div. IV state semifinal at Heath High School.
Top-ranked Cincinnati Mariemont used its superior skill, size and speed to mesmerize fourth-ranked West Branch in a largely lopsided 3-0 win.
"I’m proud of my team," West Branch coach Zach Dean said. "I know that the result didn't necessarily go in our favor tonight, but I’m proud of the effort and the hard work that they put in. They played with a lot of heart. Mariemont's a good team. I got to give them a lot of credit, and I wish them the best of luck in the finals."
Mariemont (19-1-2) advances to the state championship game against Liberty-Benton (20-2-1) at noon on Friday at ScottsMiracle-Gro Field in Columbus.
West Branch, the first Mahoning County girls school to advance to the state tournament, ends its season at 22-1. West Branch gave up only five goals all season entering the state semifinal.
Mariemont broke through with its first goal at the 25:47 mark of the first half as a cross from Meryck Bogle bounced off a West Branch defender into the goal.
Marisa Murphy bagged Mariemont’s second off a two-on-one breakaway as she juked West Branch keeper Audrey Eaton on the way to the goal with 15:08 left in the first half.
Mariemont outshot West Branch 11-1 in the first half and controlled the possession and pace all but for a few minutes.
"Definitely great balls by them," Dean said. "They played some nice balls. Unfortunately, we weren’t in the spots, and they put them away."
Mariemont continued its pressure in the second half and nearly added a third when University of Wisconsin recruit Addy Zawaly sent a cross in that Meryck Bogle headed into the hands of Eaton.
Zawaly showed why the Badgers wanted her a few minutes later as she curled a shot from 25 yards out to all but seal the deal for the state semifinal debutants with 19:25 remaining.
In the second half, Mariemont outshot West Branch 13-2. Both of West Branch’s second half shots came from super sophomore Elli Colian who finished with 38 goals on the season.
"They did a nice job defensively. They defended very well," Dean said. "They got numbers behind the ball. And I think by them getting numbers behind the ball, it really made it hard for us to break them down and get good looks."
Eaton closed her high school career with eight saves and West Branch closed the book on a memorable campaign.
"One game doesn’t define us," Dean said. "We’ve made a lot of history with this team and this group. I want to start by thanking our 10 seniors. Without them, we wouldn’t be where we are today. They’ve left their stamp on this program, so I really want to make sure that I give them some credit. Those 10 seniors really have helped lead this group, and they’ve done a nice job. And just overall, everybody on this team, they’ve put in a lot of time and effort to make this season successful."
-- Preston Byers contributed to this report