Perkins Twp.: Tradition never graduates. It just builds state final appearances.
For the eighth consecutive season, the Walsh Jesuit girls soccer team rolled into a state semifinal and for the fifth consecutive time the Warriors will play in a state final.
Walsh earned that right Tuesday by beating Toledo Notre Dame Academy 4-0 at Sandusky Perkins High School.
“It’s so special and important to us,” Bella Rosalina said. “We come out here and play for the girls that have played on this field and have worn these jerseys before us. We just want to make them proud. It helps us stay a family.”
Those words rang throughout Walsh (21-1) as the Warriors started strong, continued the pace and rolled to their 10th trip to MAPFRE Stadium, where they have never lost.
Walsh will face Springboro (18-1-3) for the right to raise the trophy for a fifth consecutive time and will do so with a legacy that has pushed the Warriors to the top of the crop in girls soccer.
Some teams might crack under the pressure; the Warriors don’t.
Coach Dino McIntyre has built a strong foundation and every season his teams add another brick.
“This program is based off tradition,” Kathryn Ramicone said. “It just works for us as a team. It’s so huge.”
Against the Eagles (17-2-2), the Warriors scored early, taking a two-goal lead at halftime.
Rosalina raced down the left side and beat Abby Snyder to the right corner to score with 29:34 remaining in the first half.
Maddie Shinaberry made it a two-goal lead just a little over five minutes later, taking an incredible corner kick from the right by Ramicone and burying it in the back of the net.
A two-goal lead is supposed to be the most dangerous lead at halftime, but scoring early can make all the difference when teams get to the round of four.
“It just gives every one of us time to take a deep breath,” McIntrye said. “Once we score, it’s important to keep it down in their end and keep the pressure up. Then it means more.”
Shinaberry hooked up with Rosalina on a corner kick to start the second half and Ramicone scored halfway through for the final tally.
As strong as Walsh was up front, Lina Feltovich, Halle Rogers, Abby Major and Shinaberry were just as strong in the back.
Kiera Sarka posted the team’s 17th shutout, but never faced a shot on goal as the quartet in front of her was a virtual wall.
“The biggest weakness in the girls’ game is the flighted ball,” McIntyre said. “We just have a couple of girls who know how to judge a ball. They’re very good at winning the ball and taking it the other way.”
Walsh will play on Saturday at a time to be determined. The Warriors hope to become the first school regardless of gender to reach double digits in state championships.
They look forward to hopefully adding the mark to their resume.
“I can’t even imagine even being there. It’ll mean the world,” Shinaberry said.