The Summit Country Day Silver Knights defeated the Rocky River Pirates 1-0 to claim the OHSAA Girls Division II State Soccer Championship on 11/10/23 at Historic Crew Stadium in Columbus, Ohio. SCD broke through on a corner kick with 1 minute remaining in the first half, and the Silver Knights staved off three Rocky River corners in both the first and second half to secure the championship.
With 38:40 elapsed in the first half, Silver Knights senior midfielder #6 Avery Smythe sent a corner kick in front of the goal. The ball bounced around and was headed in by sophomore forward #22 Zoe Jackson, who entered the match as a substitute.
Rocky River pushed the ball up the field more in this match. The Pirates held the advantage in possession 53% to 47%, and 70% of Rocky River’s possession was in SCD territory. SCD held the ball in RR territory 53% of the time they possessed the ball. Rocky River also had the edge in shots 11-9, led by senior midfielder and Captain Mackenzie Russell with five shots, and in corner kicks 6-5, but they were unable to convert. SCD junior goalkeeper #00 Maddie Mescher had three saves.
Summit Country Day came out on top in the one statistic that matters most, the final score.
Summit Country Day’s head coach Michael Fee has coached the team for 23 years. This is the fourth state championship for Coach Fee and the Silver Knights, but the first at Division II. The three previous state championships, most recently in 2017, were won at the D III level. The coach is proud that the team was able to compete and win a championship as a smaller school in Division II, and the coach scheduled a difficult schedule to challenge his players and prepare them.
The Silver Knights finished the season with a record of 20-1-3. The Pirates had a perfect record coming into the match and finished 2023 with a record of 23-1-0.
Postgame comments from Summit Country Day Head Coach Michael Fee:
Postgame comments by Summit Country Day head coach Michael Fee. Coach Fee has now won 4 State titles in his 23 years as head coach of SCD (2011, 2015, 2017, and 2023).@NEOSportsInside pic.twitter.com/sQC734s8bL
— Joel Speyer (@nyc_buckeye) November 11, 2023
Postgame comments from Rocky River Head Coach Patrick Hopkins:
Postgame comments from Rocky River head coach Patrick Hopkins after the state final loss to Summit Country Day.@NEOSportsInside pic.twitter.com/v217gSmBDy
— Joel Speyer (@nyc_buckeye) November 11, 2023
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