Seton won its second state championship on Saturday, Nov. 14, edging Strongsville 2-1 in the Ohio High School Athletic Association Division I girls soccer state final at ScottsMiracle-Gro Field in Columbus, The Cincinnati Enquirer reported. The Saints finished a perfect season at 23-0, and they needed almost every second of the final to do it.
The ending was as dramatic as a final gets. Strongsville tied the game with 1:49 to play, and senior Lou Guidugli answered about a minute later, knocking in a rebound with 49 seconds left in the second half for the winning goal — her team-high 20th goal of the season, The Cincinnati Enquirer reported.
Seton struck first, just three minutes into the game. Mary Jung found open space in transition and took a pass from freshman Anna Marie Schroer, beating Strongsville keeper Ava Therrien one-on-one, The Cincinnati Enquirer reported. The rest of the first half played fairly evenly, the Enquirer reported.
After halftime, Seton stepped up its pressure, kept the ball in the Strongsville end and produced one quality chance after another, The Cincinnati Enquirer reported. The Saints fired 14 shots in the second half and 20 for the game, with 13 on goal. Strongsville’s defense, which had allowed only 11 goals all season coming into the game, held until the final minute, the Enquirer reported.
Strongsville’s best early moment came when Guidugli led a three-on-zero chance in transition early in the second half — and Therrien sprinted out to Guidugli and got the ball away before she could shoot or pass to a wide-open teammate, The Cincinnati Enquirer reported. The Mustangs managed only five shots, two on goal, all game, the Enquirer reported.
The one that mattered was the equalizer. Ava Anderson controlled the ball after a Seton turnover and launched a tough shot from distance with 1:49 to play to tie it 1-1, The Cincinnati Enquirer reported. For about a minute, Strongsville had rescued its season — and then Guidugli’s rebound winner completed what the Enquirer called a storybook end to her Seton career.
The numbers behind the perfect season are stark. Seton outscored its opponents 118-8 with 16 shutouts, and allowed eight goals all season, The Cincinnati Enquirer reported. Kara Buck was in goal for all but one of those games, with Mary Deters getting the other, the Enquirer reported.
The scoring was balanced behind Guidugli, who finished with 20 goals and 18 assists. Jung had 17 goals and 15 assists, Shanelle Humes 13 goals and 11 assists, Lexi Voelkerding 10 goals and 6 assists, and Schroer — just a freshman — 10 goals and 7 assists, The Cincinnati Enquirer reported. Seton’s starters in the final were Buck in goal; Jung, Grace Helmes, Kinsey Pfaff and Ellie Roos in defense; Kamryn Listerman, Humes, Lauren Vaughn, Voelkerding and Schroer in midfield; and Guidugli at forward, the Enquirer reported.
The final paired the state’s most prolific attack against one of its stingiest defenses, and for 78 minutes the defense nearly won. Seton scored 118 goals this season, The Cincinnati Enquirer reported, while Strongsville arrived having allowed 11 all year — and after Jung’s early strike, the Mustangs’ back line and Therrien kept the Saints’ pressure from turning into a second goal through chance after chance in the second half, the Enquirer reported.
The timeline tells the story of the last two minutes. At 1:49, Anderson’s equalizer from distance — Strongsville’s second shot on goal of the game — tied it 1-1, The Cincinnati Enquirer reported. Seton pushed straight back up the field, and Guidugli’s rebound finish at 0:49 restored the lead for good, the Enquirer reported. The Saints then saw out the final seconds to close the 23rd win of a 23-game season.
What we know — and what we’re still waiting on: the confirmed facts are the 2-1 final, the three goals and their scorers, Seton’s 23-0 record and second state championship, and the season totals — 118 goals scored, eight allowed, 16 shutouts — all as The Cincinnati Enquirer reported from ScottsMiracle-Gro Field. The OHSAA’s official championship record book and the season’s all-state honors are still to come.
Seton’s title caps a championship weekend for Cincinnati-area girls soccer. On Friday, as NewsForce247 reported, Mariemont beat Liberty-Benton 6-1 for its first girls soccer state title, and in Division V, Ottawa Hills edged Chippewa 2-1 — the same 2-1 scoreline Seton needed in Division I, the Enquirer reported.
Seven seniors closed their careers as state champions: Grace Helmes, Addison Gick, Shanelle Humes, Kinsey Pfaff, Lauren Vaughn, Alexa Voelkerding and Lou Guidugli. Six of them started the final, and Gick came off the bench, The Cincinnati Enquirer reported.
What happens next: the Saints’ 23-0 season is complete, and the program’s second state championship is in the books. Strongsville, which allowed only 13 goals all season including the final, finishes as the Division I state runner-up after coming within 49 seconds of overtime, The Cincinnati Enquirer reported.
Photo: Chip Griffin, CC BY 2.0