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OHSAA girls soccer tournament: Your guide to every Greater Akron district

brad bournival, akron beacon journal
·6 min read

With four top seeds in the Greater Akron area for girls soccer, it’s tough to keep up with where each team is playing. Don’t worry, the USA Today Network has your back.

Here’s a breakdown of all nine districts involving area teams, who the favorites are and a must-watch player. It all begins Saturday and runs through Oct. 26 at the district level. Let’s have a look:

Walsh Jesuit's Hannah Pachan and Walsh has the highest seed in the Division I, Northeast 1 District.
Walsh Jesuit's Hannah Pachan and Walsh has the highest seed in the Division I, Northeast 1 District.

OHSAA Division I, Northeast 1 sectional/district

Winner to Valley Forge Regional

Greater Akron teams in bracket: 1. Walsh Jesuit; 31. Cuyahoga Falls

Team to beat: Walsh. As you might expect, this was a bracket everyone pretty much ran away from. The Warriors won’t play higher than a No. 14 seed (Madison) before they reach the district final.

Watch out for: No. 6 Jackson. The Polar Bears are on the bottom side and should clear it with only GlenOak, which they beat 3-0 on Sept. 27, standing in their way.

Must-watch player: There’s a two-headed monster at Walsh in Hannah Pachan and Reagan Pentz (8 goals, 6 assists), but we’ll go with Virginia Tech pledge Pachan, who has 19 goals and six assists.

OHSAA Division I, Northeast 2 sectional/district

Winner to St. Vincent-St. Mary Regional

Jamie Duskey and the Green Bulldogs have the highest seed in the Division I, Northeast 2 District.
Jamie Duskey and the Green Bulldogs have the highest seed in the Division I, Northeast 2 District.

Greater Akron teams in bracket: 3. Green; 4. Twinsburg; 18. Nordonia; 21. Stow; 29. Ellet

Team to beat: Green. The Bulldogs won their first Federal League title with a 3-0 shutout of Hoover. They beat Hudson on Sept. 23. Green should be clear to the district final with a win over No. 10 Louisville in a district semifinal.

Watch out for: Twinsburg. The Tigers are no stranger to postseason runs. They come back as a district champion and have just one loss, to Mayfield, this year. They beat Hudson 3-2 on Sept. 6.

Must-watch player: Jamie Duskey of Green is a proven winner, as her National Cup championship proves. She’s at the heart of a Bulldogs offense that scores almost three goals a game.

OHSAA Division I, Northeast 3 sectional/district

Winner to Valley Forge Regional

Maya Lake has Hudson girls soccer rolling into the postseason.
Maya Lake has Hudson girls soccer rolling into the postseason.

Greater Akron teams in bracket: 2. Hudson; 28. North

Team to beat: Hudson. Teams ran away from the Explorers with only No. 12 Hoover standing in their way before the district level.

Watch out for: No. 5 Mayfield. The Wildcats, who are bracketed away from Hudson, hold a 2-1 win over Twinsburg and played a schedule that will have them ready for the postseason.

Must-watch player: Maya Lake. The super sophomore leads Hudson with 24 goals and has only been held scoreless twice this season.

OHSAA Division I, Northeast 4 sectional/district

Winner to St. Vincent-St. Mary Regional

Greater Akron teams in bracket: 1. Medina; 25. Barberton

Team to beat: Medina. If ever there was a bracket to avoid, this was it with only No. 7 Magnificat among the top 10 seeds to venture into it.

Watch out for: As you may have guessed, Magnificat is the only team to dare challenge the No. 1-ranked team in the state. The Blue Streaks tied Walsh 1-1 on Sept. 27.

Must-watch player: Kent State commit Addy Cusick is the main force for Medina with 14 goals and four assists.

OHSAA Division I, Northeast 5 sectional/district

Winner to Brunswick Regional

Strongsville's Abby Kudla is headed to Memphis. She wants to give the Mustangs a state title first.
Strongsville's Abby Kudla is headed to Memphis. She wants to give the Mustangs a state title first.

Greater Akron team in bracket: 30. Firestone

Team to beat: No. 2 Strongsville. With only No. 10 Cleveland St. Joseph in its half of the bracket, the Mustangs should reach the district final again.

Watch out for: No. 4 Avon Lake. The Shoregals have a 3-2 win over No. 8 Amherst, which they’d see in the district semifinal.

Must-watch player: Abby Kudla. The Strongsville keeper and Memphis recruit has only given up three goals, with two coming in a 3-2 win over Medina, which is ranked first in the state.

OHSAA Division I, Northeast 6 sectional/district

Winner to Brunswick regional

Highland has the highest seed in a Division I, Northeast 6 District loaded with talent.
Highland has the highest seed in a Division I, Northeast 6 District loaded with talent.

Greater Akron teams in bracket: 3. Highland; 5. Brunswick; 9. Revere; 22. Wadsworth; 23. Brecksville

Team to beat: Congratulations. You found the district into which everyone jumped, although we’re unsure why. The Hornets tied Medina and Hudson in 1-1 games and hold wins over reigning state champions Copley and Gilmour Academy. Highland is the pick here.

Watch out for: Everyone, but we’ll go with Brunswick. The Blue Devils played Strongsville to a 1-0 loss and only have defeats to the Mustangs, Hudson and Medina. Don’t pay attention and they’ll sneak up on you.

Must-watch player: There are so many good players here. We’ll go with Highland’s Grace Shondel (17 goals, 12 assist), who barely ekes out teammate Grace Madison (21, 4).

OHSAA Division II, Northeast 3 sectional/district

Winner to Niles McKinley Regional

Alyssa Pheneger, left, and Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy have the Royals playing well as they head into the postseason.
Alyssa Pheneger, left, and Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy have the Royals playing well as they head into the postseason.

Greater Akron teams in bracket: 6. Hoban; 8. CVCA; 21. Tallmadge; 32. Coventry

Team to beat: No. 4 Gilmour Academy. The Lancers’ only losses came to Highland and Western Reserve Academy. They have wins over CVCA and Hathaway Brown, and a tie with Twinsburg.

Watch out for: We’ll throw you for a loop here and pick No. 5 Cloverleaf. The Colts stayed away from Gilmour, Hoban and CVCA and will have to go through No. 7 Firelands in the district semifinals.

Must-watch player: Let’s stick with Cloverleaf and its star, Riley Evans. The returning All-Ohioan has 20 goals and 14 assists this season.

OHSAA Division II, Northeast 4 sectional/district

Winner to Niles McKinley Regional

Kate Young has taken over as the leading scorer for the reigning Division II state champion.
Kate Young has taken over as the leading scorer for the reigning Division II state champion.

Greater Akron teams in bracket: 3. Copley; 14. St. Vincent-St. Mary; 18. Norton; 25. Springfield

Team to beat: No. 2 Bay. The Rockets’ only losses this season came to Medina and Rocky River. They won’t face a top-20 seed until the district final.

Watch out for: Copley. Coach Wally Senk spent the entire season tinkering with his lineup for Game No. 17. The reigning state champions will be ready.

Must-watch player: Without question, it’s Bay’s Tessa Knapp. The junior is a two-time All-Ohioan and Notre Dame recruit. She has 43 goals and 11 assists this season.

OHSAA Division III, Northeast 4 sectional/district

Winner to Ravenna regional

Gina Tipton and Manchester head to the postseason unbeaten and untied.
Gina Tipton and Manchester head to the postseason unbeaten and untied.

Greater Akron team in bracket: 1. Manchester

Team to beat: The returning state semifinalist Panthers are ready to get back to the state final four and have a team loaded to do it.

Watch out for: No one, but if we have to give you a school it would be No. 6 Smithville. The Smithies have two 1-0 losses to unbeaten Chippewa.

Must-watch player: Katie Norris. The two-time All-Ohioan has 49 goals and 18 assists for Manchester this season. Her 149 career goals are ninth according to the OHSAA’s unofficial record books.

Contact Brad Bournival at bbournival@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter at @bbournival

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Ohio high school girls soccer: Greater Akron OHSAA district preview