St. Ursula Academy is headed back to the state tournament for the first time in nearly two decades, after the Bulldogs beat Anderson 2-1 in overtime on Saturday in the Division II regional final, according to the Cincinnati Enquirer.
The win sends St. Ursula (13-5-3) into the state semifinals for the ninth time in program history, the Enquirer reported. The Bulldogs are state-tournament bound for the first time since the program won consecutive state championships in 2007 and 2008.
Anderson, which had reached the regional final for the second straight year, finishes its season with a 13-8 record, according to the Enquirer. The Akron Beacon Journal’s statewide regional-final scoreboard also recorded the result as St. Ursula Academy 2, Anderson 1, in overtime, in Division II, Region 6.
The regional final was the first meeting between the two programs in the tournament round, after Anderson beat Mount Notre Dame and St. Ursula outlasted top-seeded Harrison 3-2 in the regional semifinals on November 3, the Enquirer reported earlier this week.
St. Ursula’s return ends one of the longer waits among Cincinnati’s traditional girls soccer powers. The Bulldogs’ last state-tournament trip came during a run that produced back-to-back state titles, and Saturday’s overtime win puts this year’s team two wins from adding another championship to that history.
Both teams arrived at the final through tight semifinal wins on November 3. Anderson avenged an earlier loss with a physical 2-1 win over Mount Notre Dame to reach the regional final for the second straight year, the Enquirer reported, while St. Ursula defeated Harrison 3-2, conceding twice in the second half before adding a late score to stay ahead.
The Bulldogs’ tournament run has been built on surviving close games: the Harrison semifinal was decided by a single goal, and Saturday’s final against the Raptors needed overtime to separate two teams from the same side of Cincinnati. That resilience, more than any single result, is what St. Ursula carries into the state semifinal round.
What happens next: St. Ursula will face the winner of Medina Highland and Hudson in the Division II state semifinals on November 10, according to the Cincinnati Enquirer.
Photo: K.M. Klemencic, CC BY