'It's a dream come true': Wyoming girls soccer earns 1st state title game in 19 years

BEAVERCREEK — Wyoming junior Ava Yunker's first goal of the season could not have come at a better, and bigger, time.

Locked in a scoreless tie with Bexley in the OHSAA Division II girls soccer state semifinals Tuesday night with less than 19 minutes left in regulation, sophomore Allie Mouch lofted a perfectly-placed kick into the box and Yunker put it in the back of the net with a header to give Wyoming a 1-0 lead.

It was Yunker's first goal since Sept. 16, 2020, in a 3-2 loss to Madeira.

"I honestly didn't see it go in," Yunker laughed. "I head the ball and it just went into the net and it was insane. Everyone started running toward me and I was thinking, 'What just happened?'"

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The goal would end up being enough as Wyoming played keep-away for the final 18 minutes of regulation to clinch a spot in Friday's Division II state championship game. It's Wyoming's first state final appearance since 2002.

"Just hard work from start to finish — these girls play with heart every time they step on the field," Wyoming first-year head coach Sami Rutowski said. "That was a full team effort. I'm so proud of them."

It was a revenge victory 12 years in the making as Wyoming's last trip to the state Final Four ended with a 3-2 shootout loss to Bexley.

Wyoming got the opportunity for the key setpiece that led to Yunker's goal when Bexley committed a hard foul on Mouch, who leads the Cincinnati Hills League in assists (20) and is second in points (54). For the majority of the night, Bexley did its best trying to contain the speedy sophomore on the perimeter, but Wyoming made them pay for the crucial foul late in the second half.

"It was pure relief when we got that goal," Mouch said. "I knew someone was gonna get on it and I'm just overwhelmed with joy that Ava (Yunker) got her head on it. She had perfect placement of the ball and that's what we work on. She was the perfect person for that moment."

Wyoming may have felt they should've had put more goals at Frank Zink Field. The black and blue peppered the goal for the majority of the match, especially in the first half with 10 shots on goal, but nothing would fall.

Rutowski knows all too well how winning a shots battle doesn't necessarily translate to victory. In her final prep game with Mason in 2012, the Comets out-shot Perrysburg, 26-6, in the Division I state championship game but lost, 1-0.

"We knew we were gonna out-shoot this team; we have so many attacking threats," Rutowski explained. "We told them from the get-go, 'be patient, it'll come.' We didn't need to change anything, we were doing all the right things, we just couldn't find the back of the net.

"We knew it was gonna come, it was just about trusting each other, trusting our forwards that we were gonna find a way to score."

While the Wyoming offensive was keeping pressure on the Lions, the Lady Cowboys' defense was executing its same pesky formula that has led to multiple opposing offenses falling flat all season.

Bexley managed just one shot on goal for the entire game, coming with 1:51 left in the first half when junior Molly O'Dell fired a shot from just outside the box that was snagged by Wyoming goalie Sophie Crockett.

Wyoming defenders Vanessa Rosander, Allison Abplanalp and others made sure Crockett wouldn't have to make any more saves en route to her 11th shutout of the year.

Once it got a 1-0 lead, Wyoming was well-equipped on preserving it. Tuesday marked Wyoming's fifth-straight one-goal win in the postseason and third consecutive 1-0 shutout after blanking Bishop Hartley and Badin in the regional rounds.

"It starts with our defense," Rutowski said. "Our last couple of games have been shutouts and that starts from the back. We know what we need to do at the end of games and how to play smart."

To many, it could be a surprise that Wyoming, which finished third in the CHL, is one of the final two teams in Division III remaining. Last fall, Wyoming finished 10-8-1 and was bounced in the district semifinals. They graduated nine seniors from that club and welcomed in a Rutowski as its next head coach last December.

"It's a dream come true," Mouch said. "From losing nine seniors and getting adapted to a new coach and going this far, it's crazy and there's so much excitement. We're all playing for each other and to win a state championship."

Wyoming will take on Chagrin Falls in the Division II state championship game on Friday at Lower.com Field in Columbus. Chagrin Falls beat Rocky River, 3-2, in its state semifinal Tuesday night in Strongsville. This is Chagrin Falls' third career state championship game appearance (1996, 2016).

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Yunker's goal lifts Wyoming girls soccer past Bexley in state semis