Erin Hallis, Madelyn Genovese, Jason Schindler, Eric Sway, Ryan Willard snag soccer awards
Here's our look at all of the postseason girls soccer awards won by Portage County coaches, student-athletes and teams at the county, league, district and state levels.
Let's start with the major awards:
GASSCA Coach of the Year Ryan Willard (Streetsboro)
Portage County Scholastic Soccer Coaches Association Coach of the Year Ryan Willard (Streetsboro)
Metro Athletic Conference Coach of the Year Ryan Willard (Streetsboro)
Yes, that's a lot of awards for Willard.
He won them for a reason.
The Rockets have been one of the top teams in the Metro Athletic Conference for years now, a worst-to-first story that Willard engineered over the course of more than a decade. This season saw more big strides from Streetsboro, which was very young in 2022, returned 15 letterwinners in 2023 and ended up rising from just above .500 a year ago to an impressive 15-3-3 mark this season. Oh, and then there was the matter of the Rockets winning the Metro Athletic Conference Tournament for the first time.
A balanced team, with freshmen assuming new roles confidently and mixing in with 15 returning letterwinners, 2023 certainly was one of Willard's finest coaching jobs yet.
GASSCA Sportsmanship, Ethics & Integrity Award: Jason Schindler, Field
Schindler has had plenty of success on the field, leading the Falcons to three straight sectional championships, the latest an epic triumph that came on penalty kicks. Field also recorded double-digit wins for the second time in Schindler's three years at the helm. But this year, Schindler was recognized for something beyond wins and losses, as his fellow coaches paid tribute to his sportsmanship, ethics and integrity.
Portage County Scholastic Soccer Coaches Association Team of the Year Streetsboro
The Rockets remarkably haven't lost a regular season Metro Athletic Conference game since 2018.
Streetsboro had experienced its share of heartbreak in the Metro Athletic Conference Tournament, however, falling to Field in each of the prior two seasons, in the 2021 title game and a 2022 semifinal.
The Rockets' first MAC Tournament title included a key 2-0 semifinal win over those same Falcons and then an unforgettable title game victory over Cloverleaf. Down 1-0 against the Colts, senior Claire Collins found freshman Sara Koyan in the box for a 77th-minute equalizer and Lydia Schofield delivered the game-winner in overtime.
Streetsboro then tacked on another deep postseason run, earning its third district title game appearance in the last five years.
Portage County Scholastic Soccer Coaches Association Player of the Year Madelyn Genovese, Streetsboro junior
The stats only tell a small part of the story. Sure, seven goals and five assists in 14 games played is plenty impressive. That included two goals to lift her team through an unexpectedly tough first-round game against Edgewood and a goal and an assist apiece against Norton and Roosevelt.
Still, what Genovese does best isn't captured by stats. Where the junior truly shines is in the way she possesses and facilitates, her physicality in the air and her poise on the ball.
Chagrin Valley Conference Valley Division Coach of the Year Eric Sway, Crestwood
A year ago, Sway was the coach of the Red Devils boys soccer team but was also heavily involved with the growth of the girls program, often working in tandem with girls coach Tait Taylor. This year, Sway led both the boys and girls teams and helped the latter capture a second straight CVC title.
Sway's Red Devils did so in dominant fashion. In four CVC games, Crestwood outscored its league foes by a 24-1 margin.
Chagrin Valley Conference Valley Division Player of the Year Erin Hallis, Crestwood junior
Hallis played a big role in that Red Devils' CVC title, leading the team in goals (22) and points (50). In Crestwood's four league games, she had a whopping 11 goals, including four goals (and an assist) in a 6-0 win over Harvey and another hat trick in a 5-0 win over Jefferson Area.
State
presented by the Ohio Scholastic Soccer Coaches Association
Second Team
Division II
M Madelyn Genovese (Streetsboro JR)
F Savannah Rahe (Field SR)
District
presented by the coaches' associations from Akron, Cleveland and Youngstown
First Team
Division I
Hannnah Hido (Roosevelt SO)
Division II
Madelyn Genovese (Streetsboro JR), Savannah Rahe (Field SR), Claire Collins (Streetsboro SR), Delilah Rahe (Field JR), Erin Hallis (Crestwood JR), Charlotte Hart (Aurora JR)
Division III
Sydney Jackson (Waterloo SR), Melanie Plecko (Rootstown SR)
Second Team
Division I
Francesca Ferrara (Roosevelt), Kaleigh McMullen (Roosevelt)
Division II
Ava Julian (Crestwood JR), Alyssa Hallis (Crestwood JR), Taryn Allen (Field JR), Olivia Kessler (Field SR), Sam Weber (Ravenna SR), Natalie Clark (Ravenna JR), Zoie Dunn (Streetsboro SO), Lydia Schofield (Streetsboro JR), Sydney Carmen (Streetsboro SR), Abigail Dalessandro (Aurora SO)
Division III
Elliott Smallfield (Southeast FR), Olivia Boyle (Waterloo SR), Lilly Foster (Waterloo SR), Natalie Opritza (Rootstown SR)
Honorable Mention
Division I
Gianna Yanelli (Roosevelt), Eleanor Morris (Roosevelt), Abby Carbone (Roosevelt)
Division II
Taylor Larch (Crestwood JR), Delaney McMahon (Crestwood JR), Dakota Rennecker (Crestwood JR), Adriana Bright (Field SR), Emma Norman (Field SR), Ally Harlin (Field JR), Lainey Klein (Streetsboro SR), Addison Mrakovich (Streetsboro SO), Sophie Petrash (Aurora JR), Hannah Hopwood (Aurora JR), Madeline Dalessandro (Aurora SR)
Division III
Mya Bennett (Waterloo JR), Bayley English (Waterloo SO), Kaylee Webb (Waterloo SR), Taylor Monegan (Rootstown SR)
County
First Team
F Delilah Rahe (Field JR), F Melanie Plecko (Rootstown SR), F Lydia Schofield (Streetsboro JR), F Olivia Boyle (Waterloo SR), M Charlotte Hart (Aurora SR), M Erin Hallis (Crestwood JR), M Savannah Rahe (Field SR), M Sydney Jackson (Waterloo SR), D Kaleigh McMullen (Roosevelt SR), D Taylor Monegan (Rootstown SR), D Claire Collins (Streetsboro SR), D Zoie Dunn (Streetsboro SO), G Natalie Opritza (Rootstown SR)
Second Team
F Riley Verespej (Aurora SO), F Ava Julian (Crestwood JR), F Adriana Bright (Field SR), F Ella Hassler (Roosevelt SR), M Taryn Allen (Field JR), M Abby Carbone (Roosevelt SR), M Natalie Clark (Ravenna JR), M Porter Smith (Rootstown SR), D Sophie Petrash (Aurora JR), D Alyssa Hallis (Crestwood JR), D Olivia Kessler (Field SR), D Samantha Weber (Ravenna SR), GK Lainey Klein (Streetsboro SR)
League
First Team
Chagrin Valley Conference Valley Division
Erin Hallis (Crestwood JR), Ava Julian (Crestwood JR), Taylor Larch (Crestwood JR), Alyssa Hallis (Crestwood JR)
Mahoning Valley Athletic Conference
Sydney Jackson (Waterloo), Olivia Boyle (Waterloo), Hannah Timmons (Garfield)
Metro Athletic Conference
GK Lainey Klein (Streetsboro SR), F Lydia Schofield (Streetsboro JR), F Delilah Rahe (Field JR), M Madelyn Genovese (Streetsboro JR), M Savannah Rahe (Field SR), D Olivia Kessler (Field SR), D Claire Collins (Streetsboro SR)
Portage Trail Conference
GK Natalie Opritza (Rootstown SR), GK Emerson Smallfield (Southeast SR), M Claire Dillner (Southeast JR), M Porter Smith (Rootstown SR), D Taylor Monegan (Rootstown SR), D Mya Sutcliffe (Southeast SR), F Melanie Plecko (Rootstown SR), F Elliott Smallfield (Southeast FR), F Sophia Opritza (Rootstown JR)
Suburban American
Abby Dalessandro (Aurora), Francesca Ferrara (Roosevelt), Hannah Hido (Roosevelt), Charlotte Hart (Aurora), Kaleigh McMullen (Roosevelt), Sophie Petrash (Aurora)
Second Team
Chagrin Valley Conference Valley Division
Allie Bartell (Crestwood SR), Delaney McMahon (Crestwood JR), Kami Ferrari (Crestwood SR), Dakota Rennecker (Crestwood JR)
Mahoning Valley Athletic Conference
Lilly Foster (Waterloo), Bayley English (Waterloo), Elizabeth Moore (Garfield)
Metro Athletic Conference
F Addison Mrakovich (Streetsboro SO), F Adriana Bright (Field SR), M Taryn Allen (Field JR), M Sydney Carmen (Streetsboro SR), D Ally Harlin (Field JR), D Sam Weber (Ravenna SR), D Zoie Dunn (Streetsboro SO)
Portage Trail Conference
M Alexandria Morris (Southeast SR), M Hannah Hindel (Rootstown JR), D Abby White (Rootstown SR), D Payten Vrudney (Southeast JR), F Sarah Craver (Southeast SO), F Sasha Nichols (Rootstown JR)
Suburban American
Madeline Dalessandro (Aurora), Allison Kaufman (Aurora), Eleanor Morris (Roosevelt), Gianna Yanelli (Roosevelt)
Honorable Mention
Chagrin Valley Conference
Crestwood: JR Lilly Stoots, FR Alanna O'Bryant
Mahoning Valley Athletic Conference
Waterloo: Mya Bennett, Kaira English
Garfield: Halle Cebulla
Metro Athletic Conference
Field: SR Emma Norman, JR McKayla Miller
Ravenna: JR NaCol Foreman, JR Natalie Clark
Streetsboro: SO Tea Nagle, FR Carman Marcini
Portage Trail Conference
Rootstown: SO Cloe Bengtson
Southeast: JR Sacha Ciavarella
Suburban American
Aurora: Hannah Hopwood, Riley Verespej
Roosevelt: Abby Carbone, Molly Murphy
This article originally appeared on Record-Courier: Hallis, Genovese, Schindler, Sway, Willard snag girls soccer awards
