OLIVESBURG — 80 to 9. That’s how badly the Crestview girls soccer team has outscored its foes this season in 16 games.
That extreme statistic has led to the Cougars 14-1-1 regular season and a No. 3 ranking in the latest Ohio Scholastic Soccer Coaches Association (OSSCA) Division III state poll. Cincinnati Country Day School and Lehman Catholic are 1-2, respectively.
In fact, Crestview was undefeated until Saturday’s 2-1 loss at Liberty Center.
“It’s something that we’re very proud of. I know the girls are proud of it, the coaches are proud of it, myself, I am very proud of it,” Crestview Athletic Director Tim Kuhn said. “It gives us a real sense of pride and accomplishment for what they have been able to do.”
The Cougars have been able to dominate throughout most of their regular season, only four games were decided by one goal or less, including the 1-1 tie against Ontario on Sept. 2.
Mansfield Christian and Bluffton have offered a couple of stern tests, too.
Playing for the Mid-Buckeye Conference championship against Mansfield Christian, the Cougars overcame a 2-1 deficit to earn a 3-2 victory.
“That was our main goal this year was to get back and win the conference,” head coach Lee Hunt said. “The success the girls have had in the other games is due to the fact they put in so much work to win their conference.”
Junior goalkeeper Maddalyn Aumend has led the Cougars between the posts all season and has made exciting plays, Lee said. She may have the signature moment of the season to date, on a save late in the game against the Flames.
“Going to her right and above her head, just to watch her make that save and see her reaction and see her teammate’s reactions was fun,” Hunt said. “From 50 yards away you could see her eyes wide open and a smile on her face and it was a great feeling for me to have for her because of that save.”
With only allowing nine goals on the season with the help of her defense, Aumend has also recorded 70 saves and nine shutouts.
Offensively, senior midfielder Carley Camp has led the squad with 21 goals and 13 assists followed by senior Kathleen Leeper (19 goals, 13 assists).
“It’s all-around team play, it is 10 players all with individual jobs doing their jobs and working extremely hard to keep possession of the ball,” Hunt said.
What lies ahead for the Cougars is a daunting task, but Hunt says it is a goal that this team wants to accomplish … to make it to the district finals, win, and find a path into the state tournament.
“We always have our goal of making it to Findlay to the district part of the tournament,” Hunt said. “Last year we made it to the district finals, so the girls have set the goal of making it past Findlay this year.”
The last two years Liberty Benton has sat in the way of the Cougars by defeating them in 2017 in the sectional finals and in 2018 in the district finals.
“I hope their hard work throughout the summer months and fall will pay off, we have a tough district,” Kuhn said. “I think to accomplish some of the goals that the girls put down we have to get through Liberty Benton — who have seem to be our nemesis the past two years.”
CHS sits as the No. 2 seed in the Division III Findlay district bracket behind Liberty-Benton at No.1. Mansfield Christian is No. 3 and Van Buren checks in at No. 4.
The road to accomplishing their season goal begins Tuesday in sectional play as the Cougars host No. 10 Ada at home at 5 p.m.
To see the full Findlay District bracket visit https://officials.myohsaa.org/Admin/Bracket/PublicBracket?TournamentId=935.
