Dayton Carroll’s unbeaten boys soccer season survived its toughest test yet on Sunday, as the Patriots edged Greater Catholic League Coed rival Hamilton Badin 2-1 in overtime at Beavercreek to win the Division III, Region 9 championship. The victory sends Carroll (22-0-1) to the state semifinals for the first time since 2015, the Akron Beacon Journal reported.
The regional final paired familiar foes. Carroll beat Badin 3-1 on September 15 on the way to the GCL Coed title, according to Badin Athletics, but the Rams had ended Carroll’s tournament run in last year’s regional play and arrived Sunday chasing a second straight trip to the state tournament. Instead, the Patriots finished the job in the extra period.
Badin’s season ends at 17-4-1 with a second consecutive regional final appearance, the Cincinnati Enquirer reported. The Rams had outscored their tournament opponents heavily on the way to Sunday, including a 3-1 regional semifinal win over previously unbeaten Turpin, but Carroll’s defense and overtime finish closed the door on a return to the final four.
Carroll’s run has been wire-to-wire dominant. The Patriots won the GCL Coed championship, carried a 21-0-1 record into Sunday after a 2-0 regional semifinal win over Butler, and have now added a regional crown without a single defeat — a résumé that makes them one of the most formidable teams left in Division III.
The win also continued a brutal weekend for Greater Cincinnati and Dayton-area contenders in the regional finals. Of the area’s boys teams playing for regional titles on Sunday, only Wyoming joined Carroll in advancing, according to the Cincinnati Enquirer — a reminder of how narrow the path to the state tournament becomes in November.
For Badin, the overtime loss stings but confirms the program’s staying power. Back-to-back regional finals, a win over an unbeaten Turpin side and a one-goal overtime game against an undefeated rival mark a standard the Rams will carry into next season.
What happens next: Carroll faces Richfield Revere (17-3-2) in a Division III state semifinal at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, November 11, according to the Columbus Dispatch’s state tournament schedule. The Division III state final is set for 4 p.m. on November 16 at ScottsMiracle-Gro Field in Columbus.