Walsh Jesuit girls soccer wins regional, sets up OHSAA state semifinal with Strongsville

Sometimes the story writes itself.

This is one of those times.

The Walsh Jesuit girls soccer team beat Magnificat 2-1 on Saturday. Strongsville beat Perrysburg 1-0.

That sets up a Division I state semifinal Tuesday at Nordonia’s Boliantz Stadium.

For those of you that don’t remember – and very few don’t – the Mustangs beat the Warriors 1-0 on a penalty kick in a regional final at Nordonia a year ago in one of the most disputed calls of the season.

Walsh’s season ended. Strongsville went on to finish as state runner-up behind Cincinnati Seton.

“Tuesday will be a pretty big game, but we just have to take out the name Strongsville,” Walsh keeper Adri Lika said. “It’s just like we’re playing any other team that’s good. It just comes in the state semifinals.”

Lika was in the middle of it last season when she drew a yellow card that led to the late penalty kick for Strongsville.

Fast forward to the win over Magnificat (11-7-3) and Lika was one of the biggest reasons the Warriors (16-2-3) are playing in their 17th state semifinal.

The flip side sees Strongsville in its 15th final four.

“Last year obviously had our emotions here (at Nordonia), Walsh midfielder Reagan Pentz said. “That’s in the past. That’s happened. This year is a new year. It’s a new team. It’s a new season. We’re going to come out just the same like we do every game. It’s just another team that’s in the way from us giving us a state championship.”

Walsh Jesuit win over Magnificat at Nordonia could go a long way

If there were lasting ghosts from 2022, it’s safe to say they were exorcised in the win over Magnificat at Boliantz Stadium.

Madison Humenik opened the scoring for Walsh with a direct kick goal just 2:28 into things.

Gabby Garcia tied things with a goal 2 minutes before the break.

And while Magnificat controlled the first part of the second half, when the Warriors needed it Pentz came up huge.

The junior collected a pass from Hannah Pachan from 31 yards out and hit an absolute laser just over the head of Lydia Hamad and just under the crossbar with 29:42 left.

Walsh Jesuit girls soccer ready for state semifinal for the ages

After that, Lika and Co. kept the Blue Streaks at bay.

“Every step from here on is a state final,” Walsh coach Javier Iriart said. “Today is huge because that was a team we tied in the regular season (1-1). We knew they had quality and they did something that most other teams don’t do. Their style and shape was a real challenge for us. It took us a little bit of time to break them down. Thankfully we have such quality players to be able to get the win.”

For those wondering, Walsh and Strongsville played in the regular season. That Sept. 11 contest ended 1-1.

“It’s one team versus another,” Pentz said. “Anything can happen on any given night. It’s not like they have a given win. It’s not like we haven a given win We know we’re going to have to work for it, but we know that we have a big opportunity on Tuesday.”

Contact Brad Bournival at bbournival@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter at @bbournival

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: OHSAA girls soccer: Walsh Jesuit beats Magnificat in regional final