BOARDMAN OH- Boardman girls soccer has a bright season ahead of them, however it started with a tough loss to a solid Green program on Friday night by a score of 2-0.
Boardman will look to bounce back Saturday August 20th at home against Hoover. The game will kick off at 2:00.
AUSTINTOWN OH- Fitch Senior boys soccer player, Evan Sahli, was awarded the Youngstown District Scholastic Soccer Coaches Association Senior Scholarship. Sahli was one of six senior student-athletes in the area to be a recipient of the $350 scholarship.
Evan was named to the 1st team All-AAC this past fall and also played basketball this past winter for the Falcons and is member of the National Honor Society.
*Contributed By Russel Houser at austintownathletics.org
YOUNGSTOWN, OH- Former University of Pittsburgh and Cardinal Mooney standout soccer player, Ashley Cuba Buchta recently signed with the Fayetteville Fury of the National Indoor Soccer League.
Nine games into her professional career, Ashley already is turning heads with 17 points including 12 goals, and five assists.
During her career as a Cardinal Mooney Cardinal, Cuba was named to the 2008 NSCAA All-American Team as well as the Adidas U.S. All-Regional Team, Ohio Co-Player of the Year, Ohio Division 2 Player of the Year, First Team All-Ohio, District Player of the Year, First Team All-District, First Team All-County, and First Team SVC.
Cuba also landed 87 career goals in high school and 65 career assists.
At Pitt, Cuba scored a record 23 goals, 51 points, and 178 shots in her career. She also set records for goals per game, shots per game, and game-winning goals in a season.
Ashley is no rookie to the professional ranks as she’s made stops in Washington, Pittsburgh, and Finland before recently signing with Fayetteville.
Congratulations to Ashley, and best of luck in all her endeavors as she continues to help represent our valley in professional sports!
COLUMBIANA OH- Crestview secured its spot in a district championship on Tuesday with a stellar 9-0 rout of conference foe LaBrae. The Rebels haven’t lost since October 2nd.
Ryan Emch, and Noah Novak both were credited with a pair of goals. However, five other Rebels found the back of the net. Joining them was Carter Blakeman, Matt Deniro, Cutter Crane, Colt Crane, and Mitchell Auer.
Crestview advances to the district championship game, where they’ll meet up with Cardinal Mooney. That game is slated for Saturday at 11:00 at Niles.
NEW MIDDLETOWN OH- Brookfield came into Springfield Thursday night as the teams met for the third time this season. The Tigers completed the season sweep with a 5-2 win in the sectional final.
Gracie Venturella scored two goals and added an assist. Kaila LaMorticella and Brionna Holt each had a goal and an assist and Ava Vecchione had a goal for the Tigers. The Springfield defense played stingy by only allowing 5 shots on goal on a slick, fast field due to the weather. Mya Argiro had 5 saves for the Tigers.
Springfield will host Rootstown Monday night in a district semi-final game.
*Contributed By Justin Kosek at springfieldlocalathletics.com
SALEM OH- Louisville may have come in the underdog in Tuesday night’s matchup with 12th seeded Salem, but that didn’t bother them at all. The Leopards defense stalled the Quakers for a 2-0 shutout. They advance to the sectional finals.
Sophomore Drew Dillen knocked one in early in the first half to take a 1-0 lead. The assist went to Angelo Paquelet. That was all the scoring for the first half, but in the second the Leopards would add to their lead with a goal from freshman Dominic Porter-Kovecich. Joe Reynolds earned his sixth shutout of the season securing one save in front of the net.
Louisville will hit the road again as they advance to travel to sixth seeded Mentor Lake Catholic on Saturday. That game is slated to kick off at 4:00.
MINERAL RIDGE OH- Mineral Ridge quickly turned a tight match into a blowout on Tuesday night against Heartland Christian. The Rams lead was just 1-0 at the break, but 5 second half goals got them to a 6-1 win.
Nate Colburn was solid finishing with a pair of goals, and a pair of assists. Elias Clarke also added 2 goals and an assist. Landon Pal joined in on the fun with a pair of goals himself. Clayton Butker had a great night in front of the net warning 6 saves for the Rams.
Mineral Ridge will travel to second seeded Ursuline on Saturday to compete for a sectional championship. Kickoff is set for 1:00.
SALEM OH- The Salem Lady Quakers soccer team hosted Ashtabula Edgewood in Sectional Semifinal action Monday night.
Salem came away with a 9-0 victory. Rylee Hutton found the back of the net five times. She also chipped in two assists. Abby Perry scored three times. Perry also contributed four assists, giving her the school record for assists in a season. Lauryn Barton also found the back of the net. Chloe Wilhelm had an assist.
The Lady Quakers are back in action Thursday night when they host Poland in the Sectional Final.
*Contributed By Kent Paulini at salemathletics.org
BOARDMAN OH- Howland boys soccer has been the premiere program in the area for the decade. They came into the season with not just 7 consecutive league titles, but also a state championship. Boardman was not intimidated however, and knocked off Hiwland earlier in September yo snap a 42 regular season game winning streak. The conference came down the second meeting between the two. Howland got the last laugh this time around in a 2-1 victory.
Boardman got on the board first when Cole Congson scored in the first half, giving the Spartans a 1-0 lead that they’d take into halftime. Just a few minutes into the second half, the equalizer would be scored by Dylan DiPiero. Later in the game, the game winning goal would be netted by Kylan Mowatt-Larsen.
The win gave Howland sole possession of their 8th straight AAC championship.
ATWATER OH- Springfield traveled to Waterloo Thursday night with a chance to win the MVAC Championship outright. The Tigers did not disappoint.
Playing a very defensive formation to take some pressure off back up keeper, Mya Argiro, the Tigers went up 3-0 before Waterloo scored to make it 3-1 at the half. Waterloo tied it up at 3 before Springfield made it 4-3. Kaila LaMorticella put in the game clinching goal before Waterloo scored once more with 1 minute remaining to make the final 5-4.
Gracie Venturella had a 3 goal hat trick and Brionna Holt had a goal for the Tigers. Springfield got assists from Holt and Sami Shafer. Argiro had a strong 11 saves for the Tigers.
Springfield finishes the season 12-2-2 (10-1-1 in the MVAC) to win the league title for the second straight year.
The Tigers play the winner of Columbiana and Brookfield next Thursday to start their tournament play.
*Contributed By Justin Kosek at springfieldlocalathletics.com