COLUMBUS, Ohio — They are celebrating in southwest Summit County tonight.
Copley earned a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Waynesville Friday to win the OHSAA girls soccer state championship in Division II. It's the first-ever state title for the Indians program, capping off an undefeated 22-0-1 season.
The match remained scoreless into the 24th minute, when senior Emma Stransky found the upper right corner of the net off an assist from Kate Young. From there, elite goalkeeper Kami Ayoup took over, notching six of her eight saves in the second half.
As the clock ran down at Lower.com Field in Columbus, both the Copley players and fans couldn't contain their jubilation. Head coach Wally Senk hugged his assistants on the sidelines as he finally earned the first championship of his 14-year career.
The Indians' run to the top of the mountain in Division II can best be described with one word: domination. In 23 games (including eight in the Ohio state tournament), the girls outscored their opponents 133-5, never surrendering more than one goal in a game. The only blemish on the schedule was a 0-0 draw against Jackson back on Oct. 8.
Also on Friday, Strongsville faced Seton for the D-I title, but fell by a similar 1-0 tally.