Copley, Manchester, was in the OHSAA state soccer semifinals

By Felicia J. Catalano On Nov 8, 2022

That Copley and Manchester Girls soccer teams are about to make history in 2022.

Copley manager Wally Senk and Manchester manager Eddie Kissner are in favour.

Both teams play in their first state semifinals in the history of their respective programs on Tuesday night.

Copley (20-0-1) plays Bay Village Bay (17-3-0) in a Division II semifinal match at Nordonia High School‘s Boliantz Stadium on Tuesday at 7:00 p.m.

Manchester (21-1-0) will play Ottawa-Glandorf (19-1-2) in a Division III semi-final at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Mansfield Madison Comprehensive Stadium.

The Copley girls' soccer team beamed after winning their first regional title in school history on November 5, 2022.

Copley girls’ soccer at a glance

Copley enters Tuesday as the No. 1 team in the Division II state coaches poll and Bay is No. 4.

The Copley starting lineup consists of five seniors in Allie Arnold, Megan Brewer, Ashley Kerekes, Gabby Niemczura and Emma Stransky.

The other starters are juniors Kami Ayoup, Colleen Bauer, Emily Kerekes, Sydney Leach and Kate Young, and sophomore Emma Niemczura.

Copley Girls Soccer:Sibling Six Pack: Sisters Arnold, Kerekes and Niemczura manage senior Copley girls soccer

Copley's Emma Stransky reacts after scoring her first of four goals in the Division II girls' soccer regional semi-final against Lexington on Tuesday night at Wooster High School in Wooster.

Stransky leads Copley with 39 goals and 19 assists and Ashley Kerekes has 33 goals and 22 assists.

Other solid scorers for Copley include Young (20 goals, 14 assists); Allie Arnold (seven goals, 19 assists) and Emily Kerekes (nine goals, nine assists).

Copley’s top reserves are senior Zara Warford and newcomers Sophie Arnold, Carina Frank, Maren Hider and Maddie Luecke.

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“I’ve said that before, it’s one of the tightest teams I’ve ever had,” said Senk after the win over Lexington. “And a lot of that comes with determination. … They keep each other at a higher level every day in training and games.

“I’ve never had that before. I have to be honest, I’ve had good teams, I’ve had great players. This is the best team I’ve ever had and I think that’s because they’re so willing to listen to each other and ready to be held accountable.”

Ashley Kerekes, left, of Copley drives to goal past Addy Boyce of Lexington during the first half of their Division II girls soccer regional semifinals at Wooster High School in Wooster Tuesday night.

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Stransky scored four goals in the 8-1 regional semifinals win over Lexington on November 1. Ashley Kerekes contributed two goals and Allie Arnold and Gabby Niemczura scored one goal each.

Stransky scored two more goals in Saturday’s 4-1 regional final win over St. Mary’s Memorial. Young and Bauer each contributed a goal.

Ayoup recorded 17 shutouts as a goaltender and Copley has bested his opponents this season by 125-4.

Manchester girls football at a glance

Manchester forward Gina Tipton scores the winning goal in overtime during a Division III Regional Championship football game against Poland Seminary at Howland High School on Saturday, November 5, 2022 in Howland, Ohio.

Manchester enter Tuesday as the No. 2 team in the Division III state coaches poll and Ottawa-Glandorf is No. 4.

Manchester’s starting line-up includes nine juniors in Emily Allman, Kennedy Boal, Carrie Clark, Madi Cox, Lauren Gunsett, Katie NorrisMyah Schaber, Grace Soles and Gina Tipton.

The other starters are sisters, senior Halle Craddock and college student Ellah Craddock.

OHSAA Girls Soccer:Gina Tipton and Katie Norris led Manchester to their first semi-final in girls’ football

Manchester midfielder Katie Norris, right, takes the ball across the field during the second half of a Division III regional soccer game against Poland Seminary at Howland High School on Saturday, November 5, 2022, in Howland, Ohio.

Norris leads Manchester with 50 goals and 24 assists this season. Gunsett has 24 goals and 10 assists and Tipton has 24 goals and eight assists.

Manchester’s top reserves are juniors Rowan Olechnowicz and Jaydyn McKinney.

Gunsett scored in a 1-0 regional semifinals win over Chippewa on November 1 and Tipton scored in Saturday’s 1-0 overtime regional finals win against Poland Seminary. Norris assisted on both goals.

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Cox has recorded 13 shutouts as a goalkeeper and Manchester have outscored their opponents by 100-9 this season.

“This group, even as a youth, has always won championships no matter what level they played at,” Kissner said after the overtime win over Poland Seminary. “I just had a feeling that eventually they would find it [Saturday] and they did. They came through like they usually do.”

Michael Beaven can be reached at mbeaven@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow Beaven on Twitter at www.twitter.com/MBeavenABJ. Sportswriter Brad Bournival contributed to this article.

More Manchester coverage:Manchester wins district title in girls’ football in Division III

More Copley coverage:‘Determined’ Copley girls’ soccer team No. 1 ‘full of experience’

More Copley coverage:Emma Stransky and Ashley Kerekes score points to lead Copley to girls’ soccer success

More Manchester coverage:The nationally-ranked Panthers record another shutout win in girls’ soccer