Late goal gives WHS share of OCC girls soccer crown

The Wooster girls soccer team used an unlikely goal from Gabi Signorino to clinch an even more unlikely Ohio Cardinal Conference co-championship at Follis Field on Oct. 5.

The junior forward blasted a free kick from 41 yards out, just underneath the crossbar and over the outstretched hands of Lexington’s keeper with 6:11 left, to eventually give the Generals a 1-0 win.

Wooster (9-3-3, 5-0-2) shared the OCC title with Madison while dropping Lexington into third.

Earlier in the season, the Generals beat Mansfield Senior on a goal with three minutes left, pulled out scoreless wins late in the second half against West Holmes and Mount Vernon, and scrapped their way to ties against Ashland and Madison.

Last season Wooster lost seven of its last games and tied the other in finishing with a 5-12-1 record. The Generals were shut out in their final seven games.

“No one expected us to win this — no one,” eighth-year Wooster coach Charles Cerniglia said. “To be able to do it in the manner we did it is outstanding.”

For a team that had to take a route to a co-championship filled with such adversity, perhaps it was only fitting the title game was played in the rain.

Signorino, who leads the Generals with 18 goals and six assists, connected on the game-winning free kick that all on hand that Oct. 5 night will long remember. The Generals were awarded the kick after senior forward Sydney Older was fouled trying to gain possession of a free ball.

“Before free kicks I try not to think about it too much because then I get in my head,” Signorino said. “Looking back at it, I didn’t even realize how far out I was.

“The student section was screaming — everyone was so loud — and I literally shushed them with my hand. I was so stressed, but I just calmed down and took it and somehow it went in. It was thrilling. I’m so grateful that all the hard work that we put into that game paid off.”

Anytime Signorino’s free kick is mentioned in the days, weeks and years to come, Older will make sure to mention her role to set up the game-winner.

“It was my ‘foul assist,’” Older said. “It wasn’t a horrible foul, but I’m glad it happened because I play the left side and I was all the way on the right when I got fouled. I’m pretty thankful that I made the run over there chasing the ball and got pushed to the ground like I did.”

Senior keeper Grace Kostohryz, who will continue her career at Northern Kentucky, had nine saves in recording the shutout against the Minutemen. She’s averaging eight saves per game.

Signorino leads the team with 42 points, with Older (28 points, 9 goals and 7 assists) and forward Abi Strand-Fox (16 points, 4 G, 8 A) also key scorers.

“(Winning the OCC) shows that all of our hard work was worth it and that everything we’ve put in had a point to it,” Kostohryz said. “These are some of my favorite people. As long as we can make the season go (in the tournament), I’d love that.”

The Generals won the third OCC title under Cerniglia, whose team was slated to host Senior Night against Dover on Oct. 11. Wooster, seeded 13th out of 30 teams in a Division I super district, will host Hathaway Brown in a sectional final on Oct. 19.

If the Generals can win, they’re probably headed to a district semifinal matchup with Magnificat. Signorino, Older and Kostohryz will need to continue to come up big if Wooster is to advance to just the second district final in program history.

“Grace is maybe the best goalkeeper in the area and one of the best in the history of this program,” Cerniglia said. “Sydney is an amazing leader with extreme speed and what a battler.

“Gabi is just a talent — the latest talent that has come through here. She has an amazing left-footed shot, is extremely technical and sets everybody else up.”

While the Generals have three clear standouts, it’s taken a complete team effort to overcome last season’s forgettable end and survive one rugged OCC test after another.

The rest of Wooster’s starting lineup consists of forward Abi Strand-Fox; mid-fielders Emma Behler, Nadia Leary, Payton Garver and Lotta Lamm; and defenders Adelaide Evans, Brooke Ritchie, Ashlyn Thompson and Laynee Eslich.

Lamm, who shares time with Garver, is an exchange student from Germany. Lamm is talented, smart and tough despite being undersized, Cerniglia said.

“Lotta also has a big personality,” Cerniglia said. “She brings a lot to the team.”

Wooster started seven freshmen in 2022, and their maturation is an important factor in the turnaround.

However, the biggest key is everyone putting the team first, Cerniglia said.

“It’s how much they care for each other, how much they’re willing to sacrifice for each other on the field, how hard they’re willing to work for each other,” Cerniglia said. “The relentless fight and determination of the girls for all 80 minutes of every OCC game is what really made the difference. It was a heck of a ride.”

While only a few players have eye-popping statistics, Older appreciates the contributions of every player.

“If you don’t have a complete team in soccer, you’re not going to win,” Older said. “If one person doesn’t do their job or wants to give up, then it just pulls everyone out of position and doesn’t work. In that Lexington game, we actually all played as a team, and we were all there for each other.”

And all the Generals could take pride afterward in celebrating an OCC title no one saw coming.