By Michael Beaven
Special to the Beacon Journal

The high school girls soccer season has begun with several area teams feeling that they are legitimate state contenders.

Archbishop Hoban and Walsh Jesuit return several key players from last season’s teams, which advanced to state semifinal matches. Jackson and Medina annually field strong teams. Brunswick Cloverleaf, Copley, Green, Hudson, Kent Roosevelt, Ravenna, Revere and Stow are all capable of making deep runs in the state tournament.

‘‘It just seems like that type of year,’’ said Frank Gagliardi, now in his 12th year coaching Jackson. ‘‘It doesn’t seem like there is any team where you say, ‘That team will win state.’ There definitely is a lot of teams that will be in the fight for a state title.’’

Veteran Walsh Jesuit coach Dino McIntyre said the Cleveland and Akron areas boast ‘‘a lot of teams that can go all the way,’’ mentioning Akron-area teams plus Strongsville, Shaker Heights Hathaway Brown, North Royalton and Brecksville.

Kent Roosevelt outlook
One team off to a flying start is Kent Roosevelt, which is 3-0 and has outscored Stow, Tallmadge and Coventry 16-4.

The Rough Riders, 7-8-2 last season, have eight returning starters. Senior tri-captains Katie Mitchell, Jessica Giulitto and Brianna Serafin are the foundation of the team along with senior forward Jennifer DeLuke.

‘‘We have four seniors who are contributing very well and showing good leadership,’’ coach Steve Mitchell said.

Katie Mitchell, the coach’s daughter, scored 10 goals in 2007. She and Giulitto, a defender, are entering their fourth years as starters. Serafin, a midfielder, sophomore midfielder Michaela Kline and junior goal keeper Abby Bradford are other key players.

‘‘Our depth is impressive,’’ Steve Mitchell said. ‘‘I can make any number of substitutions and not weaken the lineup, which is a great luxury.’’

Stow outlook
Stow returns 10 starters and 15 letterwinners from last season’s team, which went 8-5-4 and was second to Brunswick in the NOC River Division.

‘‘I tell my players to take it game by game and hopefully toward the end of the season we are in the running for the league championship, and from there anything can happen,’’ Stow coach Chris Tipton said. ‘‘I have high hopes for the team.’’

Sophomore forward Vickie Havas led the Bulldogs with nine goals last year. Senior sweeper Leah Poiner and junior stopper Ellie Swanger will pace the defense along with senior goalkeeper Sarah Conkle. Junior midfielder Kyrsten Kamlowsky also returns.

The Stow boys team won the Division I state title in 2006, an accomplishment that many of the girls witnessed.

‘‘We talk about that in a sense of that’s what we want to do,’’ Tipton said. ‘‘A lot of the
girls were there and saw it. I was there, I felt it and I saw it. I think it will take a lot of grunt work. Realistically, it will be tough, but this is the best team I have had here.’’

Championship caliber – Walsh Jesuit & Archbishop Hoban
McIntyre, entering his 16th season as Walsh’s coach, knows what it feels like to win championships. He led Walsh to state titles in 2000, 2001, 2004 and 2006. The 2000 and 2006 teams were recognized as national champions.

The Warriors, a 2007 Division I state semifinalist with a 13-4-5 record, will be led by
senior defenders Jaime Townsend and Jordan Finch, senior midfielders Alexis Garcia
and Kendra Simmons, sophomore forward Kelsey Smigel and sophomore midfielder/forward Elizabeth Bollinger.

Smigel paced Walsh with 15 goals last season. “She’s a pure goal scorer,‘‘ McIntyre said. ‘‘She knows the game technically and has all the tools.”

Townsend (Lehigh), Garcia (Dayton) and Finch (Miami, Ohio) are Division I recruits. McIntyre said Garica is training to overcome her third torn ACL in the past four years.

Juniors Juliana Libertin and Jessacca Gironda are among seven returning starters for
Hoban. The Knights compiled a 15-4-1 record and made their second consecutive appearance in the Division II state semifinals last season.

‘‘We want to win one more game and get in that final,’’ said Benny Pietrangelo, entering his third season as Hoban’s coach. ‘‘On paper, we look pretty strong, but the games have to be played. People are impressed with our talent, but you have to play the games on the field and win.’’

Libertin, a forward, received Beacon Journal Player of the Year honor last fall. She scored four goals Saturday in a 6-0 win at Chippewa. As a sophomore, Libertin scored 35 goals and had 20 assists, and she totaled 15 goals and 11 assists as a freshman.

‘‘When Jules is on, opponents can’t stop her,’’ said Pietrangelo, who also coached the Hoban boys soccer team for 17 years. ‘‘She never gets tired because she runs track and is a swimmer, too. She is a very special athlete. Her endurance is amazing.’’

Gironda, a midfielder/goal keeper, scored 16 goals last season. Senior defender Alex
Niehaus, sophomore defender Gabby Corwin, sophomore forward Margaret Woods and
senior goal keeper Francesca Gironda also return for Hoban.

Jackson & Medina outlook
Jackson returns 11 letterwinners from last year’s team, which posted a 17-2-1 record ` 7-0 in winning the Federal League.

The Polar Bears will be led by senior midfielders Rachel Dennis, a Kent State recruit, and
Melissa Hagan, a Northern Iowa recruit. Junior midfielders Maggie Rusnak and Lauren
Jokovich also return with junior sweeper Emily Sanders.

‘‘With the tradition of the past and the stage the previous girls have set, hopefully the
winning habits will still be strong within the program,’’ Gagliardi said.

Jackson is hoping to get some revenge against Walsh this season; the Warriors ousted the
Polar Bears the past three years in the state tournament.

‘‘We have never beaten Walsh in my 12 years as coach,’’ Gagliardi said. ‘‘That is a mental and a physical goal that we have as a team.’’

Medina will be paced by junior forward Becca Candler, an Indiana University recruit,
Sarah Flanders and Jillian Graff. The Bees should still be a strong team despite the absence of current Ohio State player Paige Maxwell, who was a four-year starter at Medina.

Suburban League balanced
Tina Salem is excited about what her Copley team can do in her 11th season. Senior
midfielders Kristen Mattei (Toledo recruit) and Kirsten Schulte (Case Western Reserve) lead the team.

The Indians also will rely on senior sweeper Liz Moyer, senior defender Julie Berk,
junior midfielder/forward Nikki Matttei and junior midfielder Maddi Buckham.

‘‘I think girls soccer has finally caught up with the boys,’’ Salem said. ‘‘You have a
lot more girls playing the sport. Northeast Ohio is just incredible for girls soccer. We
have a reputation for having strong soccer.’’

Copley and Revere are expected to be the top Suburban League teams, but Cloverleaf and Green should be in the mix for the league crown.

Junior forward Emily White will guide Revere after leading the Minutemen in scoring the previous two seasons. She enters 2008 with 22 career goals.

Revere coach Jeff Stoerkel said sophomores Tara Littman and Katie Kimberly will be key midfielders with freshman Amy Feher and sophomore Kristen Popa is the goalkeeper.

Cloverleaf compiled a 11-4-2 overall record and a 5-1-1 league mark last season to place second to Copley in the Suburban League. Colts coach Val Baughman said eight starters and 11 total letterwinners return from last season.

Sophomore forward Katie Roberts and junior midfielders Rachel Gokey, Hanna Cavalier and Megan Jackson lead Cloverleaf’s offense.

Juniors Melissa Zeigler and Shannon Kilkenny and sophomore Katie Koloka form the nucleus off Cloverleaf’s defense in front of junior goal keeper Karly Beuck.

“We have a really strong junior class,” Baughman said.

Green is led by seniors Desiree Aber and Kelsey Ahbe.

Cloverleaf defeated Green 4-0 Wednesday to improve to 2-0 overall and 1-0 in the Suburban League this season.

Other promising teams and players
North Canton Hoover went 14-4-2 last season and Sarah Maj and Kathleen Ray are among eight returning letter winners.

Perry has seven starters and 10 total lettermen back from 2007. Junior goal keeper Megan
McMaster, sophomore forward Michelle Genetin and junior forward Ally Smith all return.

The Vikings and Panthers will try to dethrone the Jackson Polar Bears from the top spot in the Federal League.

Firestone senior forward Christine Black and Western Reserve Academy senior midfielder Anne Song are two other players that are entering their fourth varsity seasons.

Black netted the lone goal in Firestone’s 1-0 victory over St. Vincent-St. Mary earlier this
season.

Song, who also has a four-goal game this season, netted 18 goals at WRA as a forward last season enters 2008 with 37 career goals.

When it comes to track, it’s always about who ran the fastest, jumped the highest or threw the shot or the discus the farthest. But sometimes there are stories, GREAT, INSPRATIONAL STORIES, that don’t have to do with who won.

For instance, I remember watching the local news in the fall, I think it was, and there was an amazing story about a young lady (she may have been from the Youngstown area), who was competing in the state high school cross country meet and was almost near the finish line. Then came a gruesome sight. She broke her leg on the course and fell to the ground.

But this young lady had the courage and fortitude to crawl and limp her way to the finish line, despite being in obvious pain.

It was a story of incredible self-will. This young lady needed medical help, but she didn’t want it. She was withering with pain but she wanted to finish that race, and if you watched the video, you couldn’t help but get a little emotional, knowing she was in a world of pain. But watching her will her way to that finish line, regardless of the pain she was experiencing, was breathtaking and moving.

The yound lady gave a great television interview a few days later and it was great to see she was doing well and was in good spirts. I think she even joked that all she was thinking about, when she went down, was that she wasn’t going to be able to dance at her sister’s wedding later that night.

I witnessed another incredible story, but it didn’t involve injury. A few years ago I was covering a regional track meet at Ravenna and the Copley girls were favored in this particular relay event. As the race began, Copley was right there, as expected. But during one of the exchanges, the baton was dropped and the team was out of the race.

The young lady who dropped the baton was devasted. I mean, I had never seen an athlete more distraught. What I found out later was that the young lady was only a sophomore and there were two seniors on that relay team. The sophomore felt she had blown it for the seniors because it was their last chance to make it to state.

She was on the infield of the track, as the race was still going, slumped over an emotional ball.

She just shuddered and shook as she cried.

Then, former Copley standout Carrie Dyer, who was a senior and on that relay team, ran to the young runner to comfort her.

Then the rest of the realy team followed.

To me, that was one of the most inspirational stories I had ever witnessed.

The sophomore was heartbroken. But she was heartbroken because she cared about her teammates and wanted to perform at her best so that it would help the seniors.

It didn’t happen. But when it didn’t happen, the seniors weren’t mad, bitter or upset. They showed support for their younger teammate because they loved her. And in the end, winning didn’t matter.

So, with that, I’m asking readers to post any inspirational stories you witnessed, in track or any other sport, that didn’t involve someone winning.

A story where someone overcame odds to get where they are. Or a story about teammates helping one another.

Those are the most compelling stories.

It appears as if Eastern Michigan has searched deep into Ohio plucking four area softball players to fill next year’s roster. Hoover’s Sarah Gerber (1B) and McKenna Russ (OF) are both already inked. As is Jackson’s Jess Richards (3B). Stow’s Allison Scherer (SS) will join her sister, Jenny Scherer ( a sophomore OF),  at EMU  as well.

Former Canton McKinley baseball shortstop Zack Leonard is also at EMU. The freshman is hitting .263 with two home runs in 20 games this season.

Freshman defensive back Judson Rambaud, Formerly of Akron St. Vincent St. Mary, and redshirt freshman wide receiver Corey Welch (Green High School) are on the football roster there.

Stow senior Alex Loftin has committed to continue his academic and baseball career at the University of Akron.

Loftin, a right-handed pitcher, went 6-0 with an earned-run average of 1.14 last season to earn the Western Reserve Conference Player of the Year award. He also had 75 strikeouts in 49 1/3 innings of work for the WRC champion Bulldogs (24-6, 13-1). Stow advanced to a Division I district final last season.

Loftin also plays quarterback for Stow’s football team. This season, he has helped lead the Bulldogs earn their first 6-0 start since 1988.

Football

Stow 22, Hudson 17 (click here for the game story)

Varsity Letters Player of the Game: Stow senior quarterback Alex Loftin completed 13-of-19 passes for 137 yards and a touchdown to lead the host Bulldogs (6-0, 1-0) over the Explorers (3-3, 0-1) in the first Northeast Ohio Conference River Division game for both teams.

Loftin also carried the ball eight times for 105 yards, including a 65-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter that sealed Stow’s first win against Hudson since 2000.

Hudson coach Tom Narducci was impressed by the opposing quarterback’s performance Friday night at Bulldog Stadium.

“I think Loftin is as good of a player as we’ve seen all year,” Narducci said. “He makes plays, and he’s a difference maker. He has a strong arm - I mean there were a couple that he just put on a rope. He’s just a very good athlete. He’s the go-to guy for that team.”

Loftin is also a standout pitcher for the Bulldogs’ baseball team. He was the 2006 Baseball Player of the Year in the now-defunct Western Reserve Conference.

KAREN SCHIELY/Akron Beacon Journal

Stow quarterback Alex Loftin led the Bulldogs to a win over Hudson in their debut in the newly formed Northeast Ohio Conference River Division.

Beacon Journal correspondent Deanna Stevens reported this item:

Liana Jennings, a Bowling Green State University recruit, will not be playing for the Falcons women’s basketball team, Stow girls basketball coach Bob Podges said Tuesday.

“She’s looking to go to another school and play basketball,” Podges said about Jennings, a 2006 Stow graduate. “At this point she is evaluating her options.”

Jennings was named the Akron Beacon Journal Female Basketball Player of the Year in 2006, when she was a second-team All-Ohio and first-team all-district selection.

She averaged 21.5 points, 5.3 rebounds and 3.9 assists per game during her senior year at Stow. She led the Bulldogs to their first state championship game last season.

Jennings was unable to be reached for comment.

North and Stow are both undefeated heading into Week 3. This is a new feeling for both teams.

North has already surpassed its win total in 2006. The Vikings finished with a record of 1-9 last season.

Stow has already matched its win total from last season. The Bulldogs went 2-8 in 2006.

The Vikings and Bulldogs are hungry to go 3-0, but they will obviously prevent each other from doing that when they meet at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Stow. I talked to North coach Ken Johnson and Stow coach Marty Tinkler about the matchup. Click here to see what they had to say.

Who do you think will remain undefeated, North or Stow? Let me know what you think. I want your predictions!

There are a few scores that stood out in week 2 of high school football. Here is what I noticed:

North beat Coventry 32-22. That means North is 2-0. North is undefeated after the first two weeks for the first time since 1976. The Vikings are off to this rare start with first-year head coach Ken Johnson leading the way.

Johnson is a 1990 graduate of North who dreamed of becoming head coach at his alma mater one day. After 15 years as an assistant, he got his chance and he’s taking advantage of his opportunity. Congratulations to coach Johnson and the Vikings for their good start.

Click here for some North-Coventry game notes and quotes from Johnson.

Tallmadge defeated Ellet 17-7. The Blue Devils keep winning but it’s not by the margin of victory expected for the Beacon Journal’s preseason No. 1 team.

Last week, Tallmadge defeated Cuyahoga Falls 17-14, which raised the question: Is Tallmadge overrated of is Cuyahoga Falls underrated?

Cuyahoga Falls went on to lose to Wadsworth 38-14 in week 2. Click here to watch a really cool behind-the-scenes video of the Cuyahoga Falls-Wadsworth game.

Stow defeated Kent Roosevelt 45-20. The Bulldogs have already matched their 2006 season total for wins by earning a 2-0 start.

Stow beat Kenmore in a rout in week 1. But the Bulldogs did the same thing last year, then went on to finished with a record of 2-8. However, Stow appears to be a much improved team this year. The Bulldogs aren’t just winning games, they are thrashing their opponents.

Are there any teams surprising you? Let me know.

Stow baseball coach Brian Banfield has resigned and will take the assistant principal job at his alma mater Poland Seminary High School.

Banfield guided the Bulldogs (24-6, 13-1) to their second consecutive Western Reserve Conference title this past season. He was also named WRC Coach of the Year for the second year in a row.

Banfield is a 1993 graduate of Poland Seminary, where he played baseball and football. Banfield said he will not continue his coaching career at his new job.

Posted by Beacon Journal sportswriter Nate Ulrich 

When high school teams make successful playoff runs, their wins are often attributed to the players becoming hot at the right time.

Sometimes that is true. But “peaking at the right time” can be overrated, too.

The Stow and Green baseball teams were on fire heading into their respective district championship games. But they both lost on Wednesday night.

Stow entered its Hudson Division I district final against Brecksville with 11 consecutive wins,  including a 5-0 victory over Western Reserve Conference rival Cuyahoga Falls in a district semifinal the night before.

Brecksville limped into the district final one day after a hardfought, 8-7 win over Hudson in eight innings. But Brecksville defeated Stow 4-3.

Green entered its Canton Division I district final against Lake having won 14 of its past 17 games. But the Bulldogs fell 4-1.  

Stow and Green have several talented players. They both had respectable seasons with winning records.

So what does all this mean?

Teams need more than just momentum and talent to advance in the playoffs. They also need some luck.

State champions are usually very talented and well coached. But they usually catch some breaks along the way, too.