Cincinnati Hills League rivals Wyoming, Madeira aim for boys soccer state championships
Wyoming head boys soccer coach Adam Jones said last week that the Cincinnati Hills League was the most competitive league in Ohio for Division II and III teams.
The top two teams in this year’s CHL standings, Jones’ Cowboys and Tony Ripberger’s Madeira Mustangs, will both play in OHSAA state semifinal matchups Wednesday night with the hopes of playing for a state championship Saturday at Lower.com Field, the new stadium of the Columbus Crew.
Here is a look at Wednesday night’s semifinal matchups.
Division II
Chillicothe Unioto (17-2-2) vs. Wyoming (18-2-2)
The Cowboys, ranked eighth in the state coaches poll, will kick off at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 10, at Ashville Teays Valley High School against the unranked Shermans from Unioto. The winner plays in the state final at 4 p.m. Saturday at Lower.com Field against third-ranked Bay Village Bay (16-2-3) or sixth-ranked Lexington (16-1-4).
Wyoming is looking for its first state championship and is in the state semifinals for the first time. Unioto has never played in the Division II final four and reached the DIII semifinals once, in 2004, losing to Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy.
Wyoming finished second in the Cincinnati Hills League (5-1-1) behind Madeira, who is in the Division III final four. The two teams tied 1-1 on Oct. 12.
The Cowboys have rolled through the postseason, outscoring six opponents by a total of 31-2 and have outscored opponents 89-12 for the season. Junior Noah Popovitz has 13 shutouts in the net.
Wyoming has five players in double figures in scoring for the year. Senior Owen Vickers leads with 15. Senior Sebastian Sinigaglia has 10 goals and 12 assists.
Vickers, Louie Trenkamp and Gus Peacock were named first-team All-Cincinnati Hills League this week. Sinigaglia and seniors Simon Marques and Nick Mouch were named to the second team.
Unioto has outscored its opponents 82-18 for the season. The Shermans have squeaked through the tournament with four straight one-goal wins
Division III
Grandview Heights (14-4-2) vs. Madeira (18-2-1)
The Mustangs will meet the Bobcats from Columbus 7 p.m. at Bloom-Carroll High School. Madeira is ranked No. 1 in the state coaches poll and Grandview Heights third.
Madeira, state champions in 2002 and 2003, has not played in the state final since, and are in the semifinals for the first time since 2011.
Grandview Heights, the 2014 DIII state champion, will have its first semifinal appearance since 2018.
The Mustangs are 18-2-1. Both losses are by 3-2 counts to bigger schools Turpin and Milford, and the tie was 1-1 to league rival Wyoming, who is in the Division II final four this week. Madeira won the CHL with a 6-0-1 record.
Newly crowned Cincinnati Hills League player of the year Will Breit leads the Mustangs with 22 goals and eight assists in his senior season.
More:OHSAA soccer: Madeira boys advance to state with first regional championship since 2011
Head coach Tony Ripberger was named CHL coach of the year.
Five Madeira players were named first-team all-league: Besides Breit, they are seniors Bridger Blackwelder, Matt Cummins and James Dunn; and junior Riley Hemler.
Hemler, the goalkeeper, has allowed 12 goals in 14 games, with four shutouts. Madeira has scored 60 goals this year and allowed 13, only six in its 18 wins.
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The Bobcats are led by Will DeVere, who was named honorable mention in Gannett’s statewide ranking of the top 21 boys soccer players in Ohio. The Bobcats have scored 52 goals and allowed 25, but they have allowed only one goal since the postseason began. The Bobcats already have played at Bloom-Carroll’s stadium this year, beating the home team 4-2 Sept. 27.
With a win, Madeira would meet either No. 6 Columbiana Crestview (20-1-0) or No. 4 Toledo Ottawa Hills (14-2-3) in the state championship game 1 p.m. Saturday at Lower.com Field.