District soccer: Six Lorain County teams back with chance to defend championships

After nearly three months of soccer eight local teams remain standing. District championships will be awarded across northeast Ohio on Saturday and five Lorain County girls teams and three boys are hoping to hoist trophies and advance to the Sweet 16 in their respective divisions. All six of Lorain County's 2024 district champions are back to defend their title — Avon Lake, North Ridgeville and Open Door boys and Avon, Avon Lake and Amherst girls. The Shoremen made the move from Division III to Division II in the offseason and will carry the No. 2 seed into their matchup with Lakewood at Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy. Avon Lake comes in with a 16-1-2 record, its only loss coming against rival and top-seed in Division II, Avon. "Obviously, we're excited to be back in the finals," Avon Lake coach Pete Klepek said. "I've been talking with my assistant coaches about if there is a big difference between D-II and D-III. I think at this point of the season, when you get to the best of the best, everyone has a quality team. The competition overall might be a little stronger at D-II, but there are quality teams in every division."Avon will put its 12-2-3 record on the line at 7 p.m. at Byers Field when it faces defending state semifinalist North Ridgeville. The No. 19 seed Rangers come into the game with an 8-6-3 record. The Eagles, who have only allowed two goals in their last seven matches, defeated North Ridgeville 4-1 Aug. 27. No. 8 seed Open Door will try to complete defense of its Division V district title in Salem, where it'll face No, 5 Smithville. The Smithies come in with a 9-3-6 record, but finished the regular season by going 0-2-3 in their final five games. Open Door (12-5-1) has relied on its defense. The Patriots have only allowed more than a goal in a game three times. No. 12 seed North Ridgeville (11-3-3) girls will be playing in its first Division II district championship game when it takes the field against No. 4 Twinsburg at Howland High School, outside of Warren. "These girls want more and they believe they are capable of more, and so do I. It's just a matter of turning it up on Saturday and getting the job done," first-year North Ridgeville coach Scot Santa said. "It's been a lot of fun. We had a really strong regular season. This group of girls has a lot of drive and fire inside of them. They feel they can compete with anybody. They walk into each game feeling like they have a chance."Like their counterparts on the boys' side, the Avon girls are the top seed in Division II. The Eagles come into their district title game against Green at Eastlake North with a 12-4-2 record and a five-game winning streak during which they outscored their opponents 23-0. Despite coming in with a 7-8-3 record, the No. 13 Bulldogs finished second in the always tough Federal League. No. 8 Amherst, one of six Southwestern Conference teams still alive, will defend its Division II district title at Rocky River against No. 7 Mayfield. This match could be a defensive struggle, like the Oct. 4 meeting between the teams, when the Comets (11-4-3) and the Wildcats (13-2-3) played to a scoreless draw. Avon Lake hopes to carry the SWC banner to victory in Division III. The No. 18 seed Shoregals, who upset No. 11 Kenston 3-2 on the road in the district semifinals, will wrap up nearly 12 hours of Lorain County soccer action when they battle No. 4 Rocky River at 8 p.m. in Brooklyn. Back on Aug. 18, Avon Lake and the Pirates played to a scoreless draw, one of seven shutouts for the Shoregals this season. Columbia (14-4-1) will play in a Division V district final for the second year in a row. The No. 9 Raiders will face No. 17 Columbiana in an 11 a.m. kickoff at Magnificat High School. Despite the early start Columbia should be the well-rested compared to their opponents at the No. 17 Clippers have a 95 mile bus ride from their school 11 miles away from the Ohio-Pennsylvania order to Magnificat's Rocky River campus. "Playing a district final is a big deal," Columbia coach Blaze Pratt said. "Waking up and playing at 11 a.m. is probably not where these girls are going to want to be but these girls have proven all season that they can step up and be ready when needed."Saturday's winner will advance to the regional semifinals. Girls regional semifinals will be on Tuesday October 28, the boys will play a day later. Contact Todd Shapiro at (440) 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com. District final schedule Boys Division II No. 2 Avon Lake vs. No. 12 Lakewood at CVCA (11)No. 1 Avon vs. No. 19 North Ridgeville at Byers Field (7)Division V No. 8 Open Door vs. No. 5 Smithville at Salem (4)Division II No. 12 North Ridgeville vs. No. 4 Twinsburg at Howland (2) No. 1 Avon vs. No. 13 Green at Eastlake North (2) No. 8 Amherst vs. No. 7 Mayfield at Rocky River (1) Division III No. 18 Avon Lake vs. No. 4 Rocky River at Brooklyn Athletic Complex (8)Division V No. 9 Columbia vs. No. 17 Columbiana at Magnificat (11)