CINCINNATI, Ohio — Seton stayed perfect and a deep field of Cincinnati-area teams added district championships on Thursday, Oct. 29, as the Ohio High School Athletic Association girls soccer tournaments moved one round closer to the state semifinals, the Cincinnati Enquirer reported. Every district winner now stands two wins from a state semifinal berth.
In Division I, top-ranked Seton improved to 19-0 with an 8-0 win over Wayne — the Saints’ second 8-0 shutout of this postseason, according to the Enquirer. Seton will face Lakota East in a regional semifinal on Nov. 3 at Mariemont; Lakota East beat Lakota West 2-1, avenging a 2-0 regular-season loss to the Firebirds.
The other Division I regional semifinal in the area, at Williamsburg on Nov. 3, matches Oak Hills against Centerville. The Enquirer reported that Oak Hills beat Springboro 2-1 in overtime while Centerville took out Walnut Hills 4-1; Centerville won the teams’ regular-season meeting 2-0 on Aug. 29, and Oak Hills has gone 9-2-3 since that loss. In the Region 3 bracket, No. 12 Lebanon knocked off No. 3 Sycamore 2-1 and will face Mason, a 4-1 winner over Fairfield, on Nov. 3 at Loveland in the teams’ first meeting this season.
Division II produced two all-local regional semifinals. Anderson beat Troy 5-0 and Mount Notre Dame topped Turpin 2-0, the Enquirer reported, setting up a Nov. 3 meeting at Lakota East — Mount Notre Dame won the regular-season meeting 4-2 on Sept. 26. The other semifinal, at Xenia on Nov. 3, matches St. Ursula, a 3-0 winner over Loveland, against top-seeded Harrison, which beat Ursuline Academy 7-0.
In Division III, Summit Country Day — last season’s Division IV champion — beat Tippecanoe 2-1 and will meet Indian Hill at Beavercreek on Nov. 3 after the Braves beat Chaminade Julienne 4-0, according to the Enquirer. Badin, a 5-0 winner over top-seeded Vandalia Butler, meets undefeated Ross, which beat Carroll 5-0, at Princeton on Nov. 3 in the teams’ first meeting this season.
Division IV’s district finals were all shutouts, the Enquirer reported. Madeira, last season’s Division V champion, beat Waynesville 3-0 and Alter beat Brookville 8-0; they meet Nov. 3 at Fenwick. Mariemont, a 7-0 winner over Greenon, faces Cincinnati Hills League rival Taylor the same day at Bellbrook. No local girls teams advanced in Division V.
What happens next: every Cincinnati-area district champion plays a regional semifinal on Tuesday, Nov. 3, at the neutral sites listed above. The winners advance to regional finals later that week, one win from the state semifinals — and Seton, at 19-0, remains the team everyone else in Division I is chasing.
Photo: Bob Park, CC BY-SA