The Perrysburg girls soccer team enters the 2023 season poised to make some noise in the Division I state tournament.
With good depth, experience, and talent, the Yellow Jackets head up a group of teams in the area that is loaded with individual talent.
Perrysburg has reached the state semifinals twice in the past 11 years. The Yellow Jackets won the Division I state title in 2012, and was runner-up in 2017.
Perrysburg coach Jorge Diaz said his team has six starters back from a team that went 13-1-5 last season.
“We have youth, speed, and good technical abilities,” Diaz said. “We have 19 players on the varsity and anyone could be a starter. We are very deep. You won't see a drop when someone is substituted.”
Perrysburg is led by sophomore forward Camille Francis and senior midfielder Avary Zeisloft. Those players are among the standouts in the area, according to local coaches.
Fellow Northern Lakes League member Anthony Wayne also has had tournament success in recent seasons. The Generals reached the state final four in 2019, 2020, and 2021. AW finished second in 2019.
Notre Dame (2016) and St. Ursula (2004, 2011, 2012) also have made recent trips to the state semifinals. The Arrows finished second in 2011. Northview, another NLL team, advanced to state in 2011.
Archbold has made two trips to state (2011, 2018), while Liberty-Benton has made three (2017, 2019, 2020). The Eagles finished second in 2019. Oak Harbor made it to the final four in 2013.
Last season, Northview and Anthony Wayne each won Division I district titles and advanced to the regional semifinals. It was the Generals' fourth consecutive district championship.
Anthony Wayne shut out the Wildcats 1-0 in the regional semifinal. AW then fell 1-0 to Rocky River Magnificat in the regional final.
Findlay also reached the district final, falling 1-0 to Northview. Findlay knocked out top-seeded Perrysburg 1-0 in the D-I district semifinal.
Notre Dame made it to the district final before falling 1-0 to AW.
In Division II, Maumee won a district title and advanced to the regional semifinal where the Panthers fell 3-0 to St. Marys Memorial.
Oak Harbor reached the D-II district final, falling 1-0 to Maumee.
In Division III, Woodmore won a district title and defeated Creston Norwayne 1-0 in the regional semifinals before losing to state runner-up Ottawa-Glandorf in the regional final.
Ottawa Hills made it to the D-III district final where the Green Bears lost 4-0 to Woodmore.
In D-I, Perrysburg finished the season ranked No. 3 in the final state poll, and AW was 15th. In Division II, Eastwood was 14th.
In the reshuffled NLL, Perrysburg, AW, and Northview are joined by former Three Rivers Athletic Conference members Whitmer and Findlay in the Buckeye Division. In the Cardinal Division, Southview, Bowling Green, Napoleon, and Springfield are joined by Clay and Fremont Ross.
St. Ursula and Notre Dame are now competing in the Detroit-based Catholic High School League.
According to area coaches, the top players in the area include Notre Dame's Aly Peckham, Mo McCanna, and Bailey Becker along with Northview's Ally Biggs and Allison Shadle, Findlay's Erin Meier, and Perrysburg's Emma Ogdahl.
TEAMS TO WATCH
■ Perrysburg (13-1-5 last season, 2-0-1 this season): Diaz has two defenders, two midfielders, one goalie, and one forward back.
Ogdahl, a sophomore, earned All-NLL first-team honors as a freshman. Zeisloft, a senior, was named to the all-league second team. Other top returning players are junior midfielder Grace Langendonk, sophomore defender Kinsley Jones, and freshman forward Lauren McConechie.
Diaz said his team looks to win a title in the reshuffled NLL.
“We want to win districts and make a big run in the tournament,” Diaz said. “We need consistency, taking one game at a time.”
■ Anthony Wayne (14-3-5, 2-1-0): Generals coach Lori Williams returns seven girls from last year’s starting lineup.
Senior defender Teagan Ferrington earned All-NLL first-team honors and second-team district honors, while junior defender Bree Moser was named to the all-league third-team.
Other top players for AW are senior defender Lyndsay Borcherdt, senior midfielder Lauren Abodeely, junior forward Addy Williams, junior goalkeeper Addie Beil, sophomore forward Lila Simon, and sophomore midfielder Lydia Smucker.
“The girls are tactically smart defensively and work hard,” Williams said. “The goals we set for the program this year are to use our work ethic and gritty nature to battle toward improvement each game. Our game experiences will help develop our team team chemistry on and off the field.”
■ Northview (12-3-5, 4-0-1): First-year coach Allen Newbold will rely on junior Biggs and junior forward Shadle to lead the way.
Biggs earned All-NLL first-team honors.
■ Notre Dame (11-6-2, 2-2-0): Coach Chip Smith has eight starters back.
Peckham earned All-Ohio second-team honors in 2021 and was named the Three Rivers Athletic Conference player of the year. Ellie Korczynski made the all-state second team, while McCanna was the TRAC and district goalie of the year. Bailey Becker also is back after earning all-district and all-league first-team honors.
“We have a very technical team with a high soccer IQ,” Smith said. “We're versatile and can play at a high tempo, create chances, and defend well when we're on.”
Smith said his group is working every day to try to maximize their potential. He said the Eagles are playing their toughest schedule to date.
“We're excited to challenge ourselves against high-level competition,” he said. “We need to just focus on ourselves, control what we can control, show up with focus, a proper mindset, and high intensity.”
■ St. Ursula (9-4-4, 1-1-1): Coach Scott Reed has six returning starters from last year.
He said his top players include senior Emma Helminski, sophomore Izzy Nitschke, junior Brooklyn Highsmith, sophomore Lucy Ewing, senior Kate Williams, senior Addi Turski, senior Sullivan Yoder, junior Sara Olson, and junior Sienna James.
Reed said he has a very young group but his players have a very high soccer IQ and are athletic.
“We look to possess the ball and move it between the lines quickly with purpose,” Reed said. “We want to put the other team on their back foot. We push numbers up and take a lot of chances on goal. On the flip side of the ball, we want to limit the space the other teams have to play into and make them play in front of us.”
Reed said the Arrows have a very competitive schedule this fall with a number of teams who have been in the top 10 to 20 in the state the past few years.
“We want to play the best to challenge ourselves,” he said. “The big thing we have pressed on our players is remaining calm on the ball. We want to see movement between lines, looking for our players to break lines of defenders. We want to be brave, compete, and look to push ourselves.”
■ Findlay (6-8-5, 1-3-0): Trojans coach Jon Hayfield has nine starters back.
Senior midfielder Abby DiBerardino earned All-TRAC first-team and all-district second-team honors. Sophomore defender Olivia Gayhart was named to the All-TRAC second team and senior goalie Zoe McCormick earned all-league honorable mention. Hayfield said senior forward/midfielder Meier and senior defender Madilyn Stechschulte also will be key contributors.
He said his team's strengths are ball possession and executing set pieces.
“We want to regularly be considered one of the top programs in northwest Ohio again,” he said. “We always want to challenge for league and district titles with calmness, bravery, and [consistent] scoring.”
■ Clay (5-10-2, 0-3-1): Coach Don Hess has nine starters back among 14 players who gained experience last fall.
Senior forward Kaelani Chanthakham and senior defender Marisa Mariano earned All-TRAC first-team honors, while senior forward Kendra Stevens was named to the all-league second team.
Other top returners include junior forward Delaney Ciborowski, junior defender Gianna Cuttaia, sophomore forward KK Vartorella, junior midfielder Addison Csehi, and senior defender Cheyenne Tabler.
Hess said his team's strength is experience. The Eagles look to win an NLL title in the Cardinal Division and to do well in district play in the tournament, he said.
“We need to compete in the regular season with top teams to get ready for the tournament,” Hess said.
Other teams area coaches singled out as programs to watch include: Eastwood, Bowling Green, Southview, Maumee, Woodmore, Bryan, Whitmer, Archbold, and Liberty-Benton.
First Published August 29, 2023, 10:22 p.m.
