Hudson is a state champion again. The Explorers beat Columbus Bishop Watterson 2-0 on Saturday, November 14, in the Ohio High School Athletic Association Division II girls soccer state final at Crew Stadium in Columbus, completing a perfect 22-0 season and winning the program’s second state title — and its first since 2000 — according to the Akron Beacon Journal’s match report.
The final was scoreless deep into the second half before Hudson’s bench produced the breakthrough. Freshman Ella Gresh, who came on as a substitute, scored her third goal of the season with 21:56 left in regulation, taking a pass from Alyssa Maniar on the right side and lifting the ball over Watterson goalkeeper Josie Smith into the middle of the net, the Beacon Journal reported.
Hannah Meese added the insurance goal with 6:18 remaining, finishing a pass from Molly Grady on the left and beating Smith to the right, according to the Beacon Journal. The two late goals finally cracked a Watterson defense that had held Hudson at bay through a scoreless first half and most of the second.
Watterson (18-2-2) had its chances to change the game. In the first half, Maniar appeared to have a breakaway before Eagles defender Stella Schiavone recovered to clear the danger, and in the second half Sophie Scott got behind the Hudson defense only for Stella Schmitt to poke the ball free about 20 yards from goal with 11:58 left, the Beacon Journal reported. Hudson goalkeeper Addie Frank and the Explorers’ back line did the rest.
The shutout extended a remarkable defensive run. Hudson had not conceded a goal in seven consecutive games entering the final, a streak dating to a 3-2 win over Walsh Jesuit on October 5, and the Explorers recorded their 15th shutout of the season in the championship match, according to the Beacon Journal’s season notes.
The title also erased the sting of last November. Hudson reached the state final a year ago and lost 3-2 to Whitehouse Anthony Wayne, finishing as runner-up for the fifth time in program history. This time the Explorers finished the job, beating the same Watterson program they had beaten 2-0 in last year’s state semifinal, according to the Beacon Journal.
Maniar, a Montana commit, finished the season as Hudson’s headline attacker with 32 goals and six assists, while Meese totaled 22 goals and 20 assists and Elliana Durachinsky added 12 goals and eight assists, the Beacon Journal reported. Watterson’s attack was led by Sophie Scott (17 goals, 12 assists), Gwynn Griffin (12 goals, 13 assists) and Ayden Goulet (nine goals, 14 assists).
Hudson’s tournament run was dominant from start to finish: a 13-0 win over Painesville Riverside, an 8-0 win over Hoover, a 3-0 win over North Ridgeville and a 4-0 win over Highland carried the Explorers to the state semifinals, where they beat Cincinnati St. Ursula 3-2 on November 10 to reach Saturday’s final, according to the Beacon Journal.
For Watterson, the loss ends another deep postseason run — the Eagles have reached the state semifinals five times and the state final twice in the last three years, and they arrived in Columbus off a 4-0 semifinal win over Avon, the Beacon Journal reported. Their postseason path also included wins over Columbus Northland (9-0), Logan (7-0), Big Walnut (5-1) and New Albany (8-0).
Saturday was a full day of girls soccer finals in Columbus. Read our coverage of Seton’s 2-1 Division I title win over Strongsville and Ottawa Hills’ 2-1 Division V title win over Chippewa.
What happens next: Hudson’s seniors close their careers as state champions, and the Explorers will raise a second championship banner — 26 years after the first — while Watterson regroups around a junior-heavy scoring core that has now played in two state finals in three seasons.
The championship also rewrites a long program history of near misses. Hudson has now reached the state final six times and the state semifinals eight times; before Saturday, the Explorers’ only title came in 2000, with runner-up finishes in 1995, 1999, 2001 and 2025, according to the Beacon Journal’s history of the matchup. Watterson, by contrast, was playing in its second state final in three years.
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