Perrysburg aiming for second final four appearance - opponent Rocky River Magnificat have history with Yellow Jackets

Toledo - Perrysburg is looking to do something very special on Saturday afternoon at Sandusky Perkins High School - looking to get back to their 2nd state final four in three seasons.  Back in 2012, the Yellow Jackets did something no other girls' team in northwest Ohio has ever done and that is win a Division I state title - not many familiar faces are left from that team but a few names that ring a bell and have a part of the reason why the Jackets are in this position again. Seniors Allex Brown and Lindy DeLong have been a major reason why this side has seen a lot of success this fall and their unselfishness has given this Jackets team a major boost throughout the tough tournament draw.  Perrysburg (16-2-2) has had some very tough games down the stretch from the semifinal of the district to when they step on the field against defending regional champions Rocky River Magnificat - the Yellow Jackets defeated Ashland in the semifinal (4-2) and then had to get a late AW own goal with under five minutes to play in regulation to knock off a red-hot Generals team who had not lost in nearly a month and a half by a score of 1-0, and in the regional semifinal senior Allex Brown used her magic to get a late game-winner with :22 left in regulation to knock off NLL rival Sylvania Northview - but head coach of Perrysburg Jorge Diaz knows how hard this has been throughout the tournament. "These games are always tough and it is hard to beat a team twice. We were fortunate to beat both Anthony Wayne and Northview twice, but they were very competitive games that could have went either way" said Diaz about their tournament run.  With some of the holdovers from 2012 still in the program, it has brought a bit of that tournament experience you need in tight games "This the fun part of high school soccer are these types of games, your kids are going to play hard for 80 minutes no matter what, In my time at Ottawa Hills when we made our run to the state title and back in 2012, you can share those experiences with younger players who have not yet played in this type of an environment and the only thing you can hope is they do not let the emotions get their focus out of place" said Diaz.  The Yellow Jackets attack has been the reason why they are in the position they are in - led by senior veteran Allex Brown (19g, 7a), junior Beth Glowacki (11, 1a) and sophomores Anna Kirby (10g, 3a) and Leah Tilton (5g, 4a) give the Jackets the spark they need up front - midfield players junior Erika Joldrichsen and sophomore Hailey Wenzelman with the combo give you pace/creativity and work rate/effort - together they compliment each other very well. In the back, the Yellow Jackets have been very steady with junior Bri Boyd, Emily Baer, sophomore Maggie Morse and the senior captain Lindy DeLong - DeLong is dangerous in many ways especially with restarts, as a defender DeLong has tallied 2 goals on the season with 4 assists. "They [Magnificat] have great players and Gretchen is a quality coach. We will be ready for a fight on Saturday afternoon, this is a big momemt for both of us to have a chance to play in the final four - like them we know this level very well and we have experience. This is going to be a great game" said Diaz. In the first matchup with Mags the Jackets lost 1-0 and felt that they did not play to their level "We know we can play with them but we have to be better defending and marking their players in the middle. They are a very technical side and will give you problems if you can not press them. Hopefully this time we are better prepared and can finish some of the opportunities that we create in the run of play" said Diaz.

Rocky River Magnificat (17-2-1) is no stranger to this level - last year the Blue Streaks defeated Anthony Wayne (3-1) to reach the final four...only to fall short to eventual state champion Cuyahoga Falls Walsh Jesuit in the semifinal (0-1). Mags have had a new attitude this fall and have seen the change since getting to a high point last fall - "Last year was a fun year with great success [state semifinal] but we had some tough losses to some really good teams like Strongsville, Perrysburg and Rocky River. We are a confident group this year and this year we had big wins including Perrysburg, Rocky River and Holy Name" said second-year head coach of the Blue Streaks Gretchen Micklitsch - "The last time out with Perrysburg it was a very, very close match and it has been that way the last two seasons we have played." said Micklitsch. And she was correct when she said it has been very close matches with the Yellow Jackets - both teams have split with each other with a pair of 1-0 wins for the both of them.  Magnificat poses a a very strong attack led by senior forward Sydney Duggan (22g, 5a) and senior midfielder Sarah Lawrence (9g, 5a) who orchestrates the attack for the Blue Streaks - senior goalkeeper Kaleigh Piscioneri has been quality for Mags recording 13 shutouts on the season with a goals against average of 0.60.  Micklitsch has praised her team on their ability to show depth this fall "We have been able to use many different combinations this year with rotating players in and being able to see what they can give us. We play such a tough schedule and it is good to see players being able to come in and respond - we are playing well and we stress about peaking towards the end of the season. Playing those tough games in the regular season has prepared us for a run in the tournament, I am very proud of the girls and their progress" said Micklitsch.  If Mags look to beat the Yellow Jackets they now they will have to be better than in their previous game against Copley that saw that match go to penalties and Mags getting the the 4-3 win over the Indians Tuesday night. "That was such a tough game and it can be hard to turn around and do it again - but they have to recover and start right back at it again if they want to achieve their goals". "We have to be prepared from the pressure they [Perrysburg] will throw at us so being organized will be key for us". said Micklitsch.  The winner of this match will move on to the Division I state semifinal at a site to be determined next Tuesday evening against the winner of the Cuyahoga Falls Walsh Jesuit/North Royalton regional final taking place at Brecksville-Broadview Hts H.S. - this game can be seen on tape delay on BCSN with Ben Wilcox and former Ottawa Hills head coach Francis Stephens on the call. 

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Red-hot Generals seeking second straight Regional crown - Ohio's top-rated Copley stands in the way of the Generals' push

Toledo - If anyone back in September would have thought Anthony Wayne would be playing for another regional title Saturday afternoon...they would probably think 'no. Anthony Wayne started out of the gates with a massive stumble - conceding nine times in the first three games where they were 1-2 with losses to St. John's Jesuit (0-3) and Copley (0-5) but picking up 2-1 win over State power Jackson (Massillon). Head coach of the Generals Brian Billings had to go back to the drawing board and figure things out after such success in the 2014 campaign - well it paid dividends and the Generals find themselves eighty minutes away from their second straight berth to the State's Final Four. Anthony Wayne (12-5-3) enters Saturday's final on a tear after winning ten of their last 11 matches coming into this game Saturday at 12 PM - but standing in their way is the top-rated team in Division I Copley (19-0-1). "We respect them [Copley] and what they are about and their body of work tells you on paper they are the majority favorite" said AW head coach Brian Billings "but we are excited to be back in this game a second year in a row".  Anthony Wayne, who came into the OHSAA Division I State tournament seeded the eight seed showed northwest Ohio why they felt they were a bit underseeded - in a tournament that saw many interesting fixtures the Generals took care of business by dispatching Start (10-0) and then a pair of 1-goal wins against St. Francis de Sales in the district semifinal and then getting the win against Springfield after both teams drew 2-2 in the regular season.  Coming into last night's match the Generals had not conceded a goal since their loss to Dublin Coffman (who is in their regional final) and held off a wave of chances created by Perrysburg, but senior Evan Black who laid the knockout punch on the Yellow Jackets with 6:42 remaining in the match to propel the Generals to the final gave them a clear opportunity to knock off one of the nation's best high school soccer teams.  Billings was very positive in today's training and felt there was great energy and positivity between players and coaches "the boys are ecstatic and ready - we wanted to be in this position when the opportunity arose and they are prepared to play against the best team in Ohio". Goals have not come easy for the Generals as they have had to play very tough defending teams in SFS, Springfield and Perrysburg but at this level if you are given the opportunity...you take it.  The last outing against the Indians did not go AW's way and they found themselves very disoriented and unorganized - " We gave up a lot of silly fouls and a team like them [Copley] will make you pay for your mistakes. There midfield was very strong and it was hard to string anything against them and we were not doing a great job tracking players in the middle where they gave us fits." said Billings. Defensively the Generals have been stout and goalkeeping has really stepped up with the tandem of senior Alex Parlette and junior Brendan Vaughn - senior Chris Jackson and junior Hunter Theis alongside sophomore Tyler Mangotic and senior Jake Jankowski have been tough for opposing attackers to breakdown and be able to create anything dangerous.  If the Generals look to be successful they will have to be perfect against some of the best attacking players in Ohio. Leading the way for Copley is junior All-American Christopher Brennan (22g, 17a) and sophomore Skye Harter (19g, 18a) - Copley is a very complete team attacking wise and defensively.  Under the direction of head coach and alumnus David Antal, who was the member of the 1994 Copley state championship team has praised his team and what they have achieved this fall. The last time the Indians were in this position the Indians defeated a very talented St. John's Jesuit 3-2 and fell short in the state semifinal to eventual state champion and Ohio power Cleveland St. Ignatius - "2011 was the best thing to happen to me professionally - but since then we have gotten better and stronger as a program. Two seniors on our current roster were members of that team in 2011 and they know what this juncture of the tournament is about, it has just trickled down to our younger players and we have embraced every bit of it since" said Copley head coach David Antal. In 2013, it left a sour taste in the Indians mouth after being upset by Medina in the district final 2-1 (who then was beaten 1-0 by the Generals in the Regional final) and it gave the Indians something to work hard to not let that happen again. "In our program we preach family and being together and working for each other, this community in Copley has great support for the team, our girls reaching the regional semifinal and now us...its just a great feeling to have so many people who have faith in what your team can do on the field". When talking about the attacking trio up front for Copley - Coach Antal was very poised and spoke highly about the three "Those player are very special but they are unselfish. They have spread it around when they are being taken out of the game and it is good to see other players on the roster stepping up and being dangerous and giving us that final touch." Copley had to get past a very good Avon team 1-0 in their semifinal in Macedonia Wednesday night and they know the Generals will not be the same team this time around - " We have a lot of respect for Anthony Wayne  and Coach Billings has great things coming out of Anthony Wayne but we have gotten better and they have too. They would not be here if they did not". "They are a very physical side [Anthony Wayne] and last night in our game with Avon they were physical too. They made it hard for us and Avon's goalkeeper made some incredible saves - but we want to play great soccer, that's our objective on Saturday in Sandusky" said Antal.  The winner of the regional final gets a berth to the state semifinal next Wednesday at a site to be determined against the winner of Cleveland St. Ignatius/Hudson. The game can been seen on tape delay on BCSN with Ben Wilcox and current St. Ursula Academy head coach Chris Black on the call.  

IT's WIN or GO HOME...we will find out who will enjoy the victory or have to wait one more year

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Anthony Wayne, Perrysburg looking to take that next step - An All-NLL affair will take place in the Regional semifinal

Toledo - Two storied high school soccer programs will take the pitch at Central Catholic High School's Gallagher Athletic Complex looking to take that next step in the OHSAA state soccer tournament.  Anthony Wayne (11-6-2) have been battle tested throughout the year - starting out of the gate slow with losses to St. John's Jesuit (0-3), top-rated in Division I Copley (0-5), Medina (0-1) and the NLL champion Sylvania Northview (1-2) - the Generals found their stride towards the end of the year when it means the most. " We are not intimidated to go and play anyone in the state" said third year head coach Brian Billings "at the end of the day it makes us better and has prepared us to make deep runs in the tournament". Billings and his Generals should be very familiar with the Regional level since they have been part of the last three regional semifinal matches - most recently in 2013 defeating St. John's Jesuit (2-1) and Medina (1-0) to win their second regional title in school history, last time was in 2008 when the Generals advanced to the Final Four for the first time in school history - but Billings credits the experience of his players getting to this point of the season "We have very seasoned players that most programs do not have - our kids have seen many teams ahead of them make it to this point and it has become the culture out here within our program".  Anthony Wayne back in late August drew Perrysburg 0-0 and the Generals top man knows to expect a great match " They [Perrysburg] are a quality opponent, they defend well as a unit and Kyle [Rowan] is one of the top goalkeepers in the area - we know it could be a tight game but we have to ready for those moments in the match" said Billings. As for the Yellow Jackets - one of the most storied soccer programs in northwest Ohio they should be at this level every year but it has been unlucky for them at times in the tournament. Last year the Jackets were nearly 20 seconds away from hoisting the District title until Freshman Zachary Buescher spoiled the plans with a game-tying finish and then the Titans snatched a game-winner in extra time from Adam Naayers sent Perrysburg home disgusted and hungry for a different result in 2014. After longtime head coach Mike Timbrook retired after last season the Yellow Jackets hired a young and ambitous coach with experience in Brandon Decker; Decker comes from a rich tradition in the Richfield Revere program who were Division II State champions last fall under head coach Sandor Jakob - so Decker was the right fit to take Perrysburg back to where they belonged. "When getting here - it took our boys sometime to get to our potential - we play some of the best competititon in the state and we know that we are able to play with anyone on anyday" said Decker. Perrysburg (11-3-5) played a daunting regular season schedule including playing the same opponent Anthony Wayne lost to in the regular season top-rated in the state and in the country Copley. "I am very familiar with Copley and how to play against them - we were in that game and gave up a soft goal on a set-piece...from that moment I knew these boys were capable to play with anyone" - the Yellow Jackets looked to have turned a corner after picking up a big road win over St. John's Jesuit (1-0) and then drew the fifth-rated team in Ohio Sylvania Northview (1-1). "Coming into the tournament we have been preaching two things - you can not be emotional and just do your job to the best of your abilities" said Decker and the Jackets have by defeating Sylvania Southview in a tight match 3-2 in the sectional final, beating Ashland 2-0 in the district semifinal and then the game they wanted in the district final against St. John's Jesuit by deciding that fixture in penalties winning it 4-3 after finishing the regulation and extra time finished at 0-0. One reason why is the defending combination of seniors Jacob Kirby and Caleb Oeder and the goalkeeping of senior Kyle Rowan - "Kirby and Caleb have been very steady during the [tournament] run and Kyle has been great, making the saves that matter the most in matches" said Decker.  For the Yellow Jackets to knock off the defending champions it will take a team effort - Anthony Wayne is playing great soccer at the moment with the defending of senior Chris Jackson, Austin Adams, junior Hunter Theis and sophomore Tyler Mangotic, on the attacking side the Generals have been steady with seniors Zach Harris, Colin Mortemore, Jared Russell and Jacob Bores all holdovers from that 2013 final four Generals team who are very seasoned and experienced at this level.  "It will be a great game - all it takes at this level is one clear chance and capitalizing on it - you have to figure both of us will get that chance" said Decker.  

You can catch this Regional semifinal tonight on tape delay at 11PM on BCSN with Mason Lowry and former Ottawa Hills head coach Francis Stephens on the call from Central Catholic High School.

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BCSN featured story on Sylvania Northview boys' Soccer, senior Matt Bules and their inspiration

http://bcove.me/8cg3d0un

Titans looking for a signature win against upstart Yellow Jackets

Toledo - BCSN Thursday night High School soccer will broadcasting live from Lyden Field as the Titans of St. John's Jesuit plays host to the Perrysburg Yellow Jackets.  After the Titans were dismantled by the Sylvania Northview last Thursday, the Titans are looking for a quality win against a stout NLL side.  The Titans who defeated Perrysburg last season in the District Final in overtime are paced by First-Team All-Ohioan and District Player of the Year Camden Buescher (Sr, MF/F) and the attacking tandem of Cam Miller (Sr, F), Leo Gomez (Soph, F/MF) and Zack Roller (Sr, F) will look to give the Yellow Jackets problems at the back.  As for the Yellow Jackets, first-year Head Coach Brandon Decker (former BGSU standout and assistant at Richfield Revere H.S.) has this team going in the right direction - coming off a stellar performance over the weekend against perennial power Jackson (Massillon) 1-0 and on Tuesday they cruised by a young Maumee side 9-0, this Perrsyburg team has seen many state-ranked team and are ready to face battle with another quality opponent in St. John's Jesuit.  Leading the way for the Yellow Jackets are the attacking group of Kyle Wyrick (Sr. F), Andrew Bosworth (Jr, F) and Logan Giesige (Jr, F) - a very steady midfield Perrysburg possess with senior Tyler Wenzelman and sophomore Elion Damsi can create and be threats in the run of play with their distribution coming from deep parts of the midfield. Senior Jacob Kirby anchors the back while senior goalkeeper Kyle Rowan continues to keep the Yellow Jackets in matches. This game has a lot at stake for state tournament seeding - always important to collect a quality win to build a resume for selection Sunday.

Game time is 7PM (broadcasted live on BCSN2)

#TRACvsNLL

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#TITANSvsJACKETS

MVCDS looking to dethrone the Green Bears to take control of TAAC title race

Toledo - Ottawa Hills has not been only the class of the Toledo Area Athletic Conference and Northwest Ohio...it's been one of the top high school programs in the state of Ohio.  The Green Bears have controlled the TAAC for the last 8 years and have dominated the Division III Northwest District advancing to the last 4 regional semifinals.  But it can all change tonight at OH as the unbeaten Maumee Valley Country Day School Hawks come to visit in a very important TAAC tilt this evening.  The Hawks, who have been very impressive throughout the last two season return one of the top striker tandems in the area in Juniors Thomas Cundliffe and Jack Herrmann - Cundliffe who has scored over 20 goals in 10 games is the most important piece to the puzzle as he was a year ago but was sidelined with a collarbone injury that ended his sophomore campaign.  The Hawks are paced by a very stout back 4 which returns key starters from last season - anchoring the back is Junior Turner Booth and Evan Abdoo with help from right back senior Nick Towns and key midfielders seniors Jeremy Anderson, Lucas Isaza, and Zain Bedi will help make teams struggle to generate anything going on frame against sophomore goalkeeper Jacob Greenbaum.  Greenbaum, who sat majority of his freshman season has stepped in and done a fine job for the Hawks in goal who have only conceded 7 times this season.  The Green Bears are paced by veterans and quality young players - leading the way for the Bears is First team All-TAAC selection last fall senior Nick Hauck (10g, 10a) and the Green Bears leading scorer senior Luke Dangler (15g, 3a). Senior Dan Reilly and Juniors Garrett Robinson and Noah Dewhirst alongside sophomore Spencer Bergman and freshman Josh Joseph help anchor the midfield which can be dangerous going forward. The Green Bears are winners of the last 7 TAAC titles and will have a serious threat with the Hawks eying their first league title in 8 years, last fall the Hawks would have won the TAAC outright but a loss to Ottawa Hills at OH and a last minute tie with Toledo Christian - Ottawa Hills brought the title back home and continued on to win their 4th straight Division III District title...tonight's game can be seen on BCSN2 and looks to be a great one in the the village.

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#BEARSvsHAWKS

Scott will headline the City League High School soccer today on BCSN Live

Toledo - High School soccer regular season is winding close to an end and we all know about the teams in the TRAC, NLL and TAAC - but today we will feature 2 live matches on the BCSN networks with City League teams in action.  Today's featured matches pit the Start Spartans taking on the Bowsher Rebels (5PM - live on BCSN) and for the first time in school history the Scott Bulldogs will play host to the Waite Indians (5PM - live on BCSN2).  Scott, who this year has a soccer team have already played a JV match against the Start Spartans and see this being a positive experience to all that are involved, even on the girls side the Rogers Rams have introduced the game back to its school for the first time in 30+ years.  It is good to see that the City League and Toledo Public Schools are introducing this wonderful sport to kids from all different walks - that is what this game is about!!

Make sure you tune in and support these teams!!

#TPSProud

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