Summit Country Day shuts out Rocky River for OHSAA Division II girls soccer title

A goal by Zoe Jackson in the 38th minute gave the Silver Knights the state championship

COLUMBUS, Ohio - Offense was expected to be at a premium in the OHSAA girls soccer Division II state championship game between Summit Country Day and Rocky River on Friday afternoon at Historic Crew Stadium, and the game lived up to the billing.

Zoe Jackson scored a goal in the 38th minute and the Summit Country Day defense made it hold up for a 1-0 win.

The goal came off a corner kick for the Silver Knights, as the ball was served into the box by Avery Smythe and headed in by Jackson off the post for the only goal of the contest. 

"I noticed that not a lot of people were really marking me so when I went up, it was kind of a scrum," Jackson said. "I know Cam Lorenz was just putting pressure and I think when the defender went to clear it, it just ended up kind of being a big scrum and ended up going in."

The goal gave the Silver Knights a bit of relief heading into halftime.

"We went in and said they basically have to chase now," SCD head coach Mike Fee said. "They're going to have to be the ones that are a little more aggressive. I thought we were a little frantic in the first half. I thought we calmed it down a bit just before we scored and then at the beginning of second half."

The best chance to tie the game for Rocky River came in the 55th minute, as Mackenzie Russell headed a corner kick off the crossbar and the follow-up shot was blocked.

The two teams entered the state championship game having allowed just 23 combined goals all season, with Rocky River giving up 13 and SCD only 10. SCD finishes the season 20-1-3 with 15 shutouts.

"Our mentality going into games is we're not letting in goals," Bree Reder said. "We make up our mind before the game even starts. We're doing anything we can to not let it go in."

The win gives the Silver Knights their fourth state title and the first since 2017, which was in Division III. Moving up a division made the feat a little tougher for the Silver Knights.

"They're all special, it's hard to distinguish them," Fee said. "I don't disagree with the state's decision to do some kind of competitive balance. I think it's the right decision. It makes it more difficult for us as really small (Division II) school to do it. I think it makes it special because we know that we have such a small pool of kids we pull from playing against much larger schools."

(Feature image: Summit Country Day players celebrate with the Division II state championship trophy. Photo credit: Ryan Isley, SBLive Sports)