AVON — For the second straight year, Avon’s girls are district soccer champions.
The Eagles defeated gutsy Firelands, 3-1, Thursday night to join the Division II Sweet 16 for only the second time in the history of the program. Only 12 Falcons were healthy enough to play, leaving them with just one substitute.
The game marked the final high school meeting between the Falcons’ Rachael Melendez, whose 60 goals for the season were tops in the state this year, and the Eagles’ Megan Repas, who holds her school’s career scoring record. Both will attend Division I universities next season on soccer scholarships.
Neither scored a goal — although Melendez received a scoring point for her assist on the Falcons’ goal — nor did  irelands’ Elizabeth Kozlowski. Kozlowski was the state’s No. 1 assists maker this season with 30. She will also play Division I soccer on a scholarship next season.
“I wish this had come out differently,” Melendez said, “but we did have a good season. We did have a good run.”
Avon (17-3) advances to a regional semifinal at Brush High in South Euclid at 7 p.m. Wednesday. They’ll meet either Hathaway Brown or Lake Catholic, who played for the University Heights district crown.
Remarkably, the Falcons were in a 1-1 tie at halftime — and had scored both goals.
Avon took a 1-0 lead in the ninth minute on a Firelands own goal, which occurs when a defender provides the impetus for an opponent’s score. It happened when the Eagles’ Devon Saini launched a corner kick that bounced off the shoulder of a Firelands defender and into the Falcons’ net.
Under scoring rules, no individual is credited with the goal. But there is confusion on the issue, because different scoring rules apply at different levels of competition. Own goals in OHSAA final four matches have gone without credit in the past.
Some believed Repas actually shouldered Saini’s kick into the net, but Repas later said she had not, that the ball went in off the shoulder of a Falcons defender.
Firelands tied the match in the 11th minute when freshman Mackenzie Lahetta scored with an assist from Melendez. But the Eagles’ Holly Ohradzansky, also a freshman, scored the eventual game-winner when she hooked a rocket just inside the left goalpost in the third minute after the break. She also put the ball in the net a second time, but the Eagles were offside on the play.
“On the one that counted, Megan (Repas) played a through-ball to me,” Ohradzansky said. “I took a shot and the (goalkeeper) missed it.”
Avon got the crusher from sophomore forward Samantha Bender, who scored in the 72nd minute from the middle of a hectic scramble in front of the Firelands goal.
“It was really crowded in the box and there was a lot of chaos,” Bender said. “The ball just came across and I knew I had to do something with it, so I shot it.”
The Eagles held Firelands to one shot — Lahetta’s goal — for the game. For the second time this season, Avon freshman Hanna Winger marked Melendez and didn’t allow her a shot.
“I’ve spent a lot of time with her this year,” Winger said. “This is a great feeling. The girls last year worked so hard, and we want to go farther this year.”
Like the Falcons, the Eagles are also a young team.
“Except for three seniors and a junior, we have nothing but sophomores and freshmen,” said Avon coach Tony Demacchia. “All year long, they’ve been getting the job done. The last two games, I’ve been extremely proud of our youth.”
Firelands, appearing in the first district final in the history of the program, went 1-13 two seasons ago. Last year, Andy Marsh’s first at the Falcons’ helm, they were 8-9. They finished this season 15-4-1.
“It’s hard to believe what these girls have accomplished with only 14 players — 12 tonight — on the roster,” Marsh said. “I am very proud of the way they’ve played and held together as a team.”
Contact Bob Daniels at 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com.

GOALS: (F) Mackenzie Lahetta (11th minute). (A) Firelands own goal (9th minute), Holly Ohradzansky (43rd minute), Samantha Bender (72nd minute).
ASSISTS: (F) Rachael Melendez.
SHOTS: Firelands 1, Avon 29.
SHOTS ON GOAL: Firelands 1, Avon 13.
SAVES: (F) Erika Beursken 11, (A) Holly Kraus 0.
CORNER KICKS: Firelands 2, Avon 7.
GOAL KICKS: Firelands 21, Avon 0.
OFFSIDE: Avon 2.
HAND BALLS: None.
FOULS: Firelands 6, Avon 7.
CARDS: None.
HALFTIME: 1-1.

Division I 

WESTLAKE —- It was not Westlake versus Magnificat in the Division I district championship Thursday night. With the physical play and yellow cards that littered the action, watching the game was more like viewing the Hatfields and McCoys trying to settle an old score.
Many of the girls from both teams grew up playing with and against each other. The game even featured a sister against sister matchup. The bragging rights in the Fulton household now belong to Julia, a junior midfielder for Westlake (16-2-1) as the Demons defeated the Blue Streaks (10-8-2) and little sister Shannon, 1-0.
“It was extremely physical,” said Westlake coach Scott Jones. “You have a whole bunch of seniors playing in a game when everyone knows what’s at stake. They’re going to play hard.”
“There is a little family rivalry between Mags and Westlake,” Julia Fulton said. “It’s nice (to have bragging rights), but I’m not sure how much I’m going to utilize them. I’m going to carefully choose the times when I’ll use them.”
Westlake broke the pressure Magnificat had been applying with aggressive play of its own.
Midway through the second half, the Demons controlled the ball deep in Magnificat’s end, when Blue Streaks goalie Amanda Copfer deflected one shot and recovered to turn away another. The second rebound caromed to Westlake freshman midfielder Sarah Stroh, who rifled a shot past Copfer for the goal.
“I was just focusing on the ball and hoping it would go in” Stroh said. “I’ve always been taught to play tough and why stop now? I thought our team deserved a win, so we gave it to them.”
“They were close, but the keeper made some real nice saves for them,” Jones said. “Luckily, Sarah was there in the right place and got her third goal in three games for us.”
The victory was redemption for Westlake, which lost to Magnificat 2-1 in the district final a year ago. With the win, Westlake advances to the regional tournament next Wednesday. The Demons will play Strongsville at Bay High School.
“Last year was real hard because we came down to a shootout,” Jones said. “That was hard to walk off the field regardless of whether you win or lose. It hurt a lot because we really thought we were the best team. It didn’t go our way. The girls knew about it and they had thought about it. I let them talk about it and remember what it felt like.”
Westlake had an opportunity to score an insurance goal with 7:30 left in the game. Junior forward Natalie Bechtel broke free on the far sideline and had a clear path to the net. Even though she was taken down outside the box, Bechtel regained her footing and continued to the net, only to be taken down inside the box and lose possession.
In the early going, Magnificat moved down the field quickly, keeping the Demons from attacking. Once the Blue Streaks slowed down, the physicality picked up for both teams. Every header was contested and several collisions resulted in free kicks.
“Our plan was to play aggressive, play hard and yet try to play controlled,” Magnificat coach Katie Eckelman said.
One of Westlake’s scoring chances came on a free kick with 2:10 remaining in the first half. After Magnificat committed a foul, the Demons had a clear shot at the net. Copfer, a freshman goalkeeper for the Blue Streaks, kept things scoreless with her fourth save of the game.
Contact Matt Florjancic at 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com.

GOALS: (W) Sarah Stroh.
SHOTS ON GOAL: Westlake 8, Magnificat 4.
SAVES: (W) Stephanie Poeppelman 4, (M) Amanda Copfer 7.
YELLOW CARDS: (M) Casey Rogozinski. (W) Megan O’Neill.
CORNERS: (W) 3, (M) 1.
HALFTIME: 0-0.

---

Print this story
Report an inappropriate comment

---

In order to comment, you must agree to our user agreement and discussion guidelines.

Need help? Email Us.

---