Generals' title wraps up home-field advantage for OCC tournament
By Brian Questel
October 5, 2011
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The Wooster High girls soccer team may have concluded its regular season on a cold, drizzly night in October, but the heat of the spotlight remains on the rest of its season.
The Generals closed the regular-season portion of its schedule with a resounding 4-0 victory over Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary Oct. 3. That allowed the Generals to wrap up a 10-1-2 campaign as it moves into the Ohio Cardinal Conference tournament, where the team earned home-field advantage by winning the OCC regular-season title and a bye for the first round of games Oct. 6. The Generals will face the winner of the Lexington-Ashland game Oct. 10 at 7 p.m., with the championship game slated for Oct. 14 at 7 p.m.
Wooster took the OCC title with a 5-0-1 mark, with the tie coming on the end of a stretch where the Generals played three games in a four-day stretch. That 1-1 tie against Mansfield Madison was the only step back for the Generals in OCC play, as they defeated runner-up Clear Fork (11-1-1, 4-1-1 OCC) 3-0 in their matchup.
Madison was third with a 3-1-2 OCC mark, followed by Lexington (2-2-2), Ashland (2-3-1), West Holmes (1-4-1) and Mansfield Senior (0-6).
While the season is hardly over, winning the regular season title was high on coach Les Wudarzewskis list as soon as the final seconds of the 2010 season ticked off. That was the focus throughout the entire offseason, but at the core of this seasons success have been five seniors who have experienced the success of the past four seasons. They were also a critical link in winning the schools first conference championship in 2009 as four of them were starters on that team that emerged from a fourth-place finish in the regular season to gain a share of the OCC title.
For senior Kelli Baxstrom, that bond is what has helped this team.
After working for four years and working as a team for so long – we love playing as a team, said Baxstrom. We love playing together so much and have done so well. To see that work put into play and get results is great. To have reached this point and to have won the OCC and have the chance to go further in districts makes me feel good. Weve done something we never have done before. It makes us all feel part of something important.
Baxstrom noted the program is decidedly different today than four years ago.
Ive noticed the skill level has gone up from girls training in clubs and having more heart in it, she said. The girls want to play, they want to win and want to be a part of this team. Weve become close as friends and as players, and we respect each other so much.
Hackett became the teams starting keeper as a sophomore and was instrumental in backboning the 09 championship team.
Weve started out strong this year – our record shows that, said Hackett. Were doing really well. Were in a position now where were inches away from winning the OCC and that feels good. Our sophomore year we worked up to it and (at one point) it felt like we didnt have a chance. This year we felt we could win it. We just work well together and have played well as a team and not with just one leader. Were all leading each other.
The quiet lady of the team, Hackett says she definitely has become louder.
I was quiet then, laughed Hackett. Ive definitely become louder. I realized the team needed me to speak up and when to do it, but Ive improved as a player and gotten better over the years. I definitely want to win OCC. We have two games left and I want to finish strong and continue into Districts.
The legacy is something that senior fullback Ashley Jolly wants to be remembered by.
It means a lot to me, said Jolly. It means we accomplished so much by being one of Woosters best soccer teams to come out of the school. Its had a big impact on my life, knowing we did something to help build the soccer community and make it stronger. Its an extraordinary feeling. It shows anything is possible as long as you come together as a team and strive for the goals you want.
That teamwork is one of the reasons Wooster has improved from last years 10-6-1 campaign.
I feel we all work well together and we can anticipate how each other plays. That helps us on the field and has led us to victories, said Jolly, who recalled how overwhelming it was playing as a freshman. My freshman year I was scared to go out and play in a varsity game because the pace was so different. Ive learned so much from Les and all my teammates and theyve helped me realize I was capable of doing a lot on the field and make a difference by giving it my all.
Senior midfielder Beth Courson stepped into the starting lineup as a freshman and has seen the team grow, just as she has grown as a player. That growth has been an important key in Coursons opinion.
Our whole team is coming together. Were all stepping it up and playing and doing the things that need to be done to accomplish our goals, said Courson. In games where we get in trouble and are losing by a goal or if its tied, we all pick each other up and do what we need to do.
I am just having fun and knowing that when I left, for my senior year, I had fun and enjoyed playing. That (came about with) everyone encouraging me to pick up my game and that gave me the boost I needed. I improved because I was taking chances and moving more. I move more on the field now and distribute the ball.
Now we need to keep our focus on the games we need to win and go out and win our district game for the first time in 13 years.
The bonding other players spoke about extended to senior Jenn Philippon, who recently became the schools leading scorer, surpassing Joy Taylor for that honor.
The five seniors have played together since we were little kids and I think that definitely helps the chemistry of the team, said Philippon. We get along on and off the field. The senior aspect really helps. We know how to play with each other because weve been playing with each other so long, we have that connection on the field.
I would say my confidence has grown a lot, which has helped me to use my skills and I feel I can take control of the game a lot. My confidence has helped me take control of the game instead of just playing the game.
While she may be a focal point of the team offensively, this season has been the accomplishment of what me and the other seniors have been putting into the program for the past four years.
Were accomplishing what we wanted to accomplish so far, Philippon said. For me personally, getting the record is a reward for all the work Ive put in and its nice to have something to show for it. (To win the regular season) feels really good. Two years ago we won it, but we came out of the season on the bottom and had to fight. This season, its in our hands and now the only thing that matters is how we play the next few games.
The willingness to work as a team this season has been a critical piece of the season according to Wudarzewski.
The seniors all have specific personalities and a special gift they bring to the team and everyone contributes to the team in a way no one else does, said Wudarzewski. Staci Hackett has a different personality than Kelli, Kelli has a different one that Philippon, but they all have something that brings the team together. Thats what is special. Not to be just a soccer player or a star, but being a friend and a teammate. They accept whatever role there is and they do the best they can to help the team win.
They will leave the Wooster High program definitely improved. From the seniors working with micro soccer on down, its a chain reaction. The younger girls are learning from micro soccer and coaching at the lower levels. To see all the seniors come in on a Saturday morning when others are sleeping and working with kids and seeing their smiles shows how they care.
But, it goes beyond the soccer field and I think that is contagious. This group witnessed the last OCC championship; they know what it takes and what they have to bring to the plate for everyone to follow. The girls dont give up and they fight hard, and the other girls respond to it.
