Girls soccer: North Ridgeville finally finds net, downs Berea-Midpark in sectional opener

NORTH RIDGEVILLE — Including the regular season, North Ridgeville and Berea-Midpark played three halves of scoreless soccer until the Rangers' Alyssa Gimmel found a way to break through. Gimmel scored an unassisted goal after a scramble in front of the net in the 53rd minute to propel North Ridgeville to a 2-0 win over Southwestern Conference foe Berea-Midpark in a Division I sectional opener Saturday. "We've faced a lot of adversity this year so I think we just needed that first goal to give us a confidence boost," Gimmel said. "After halftime we realized this could be it, this could be our last game. We knew we had to bring it all." After getting outscored 21-2 in their final three regular-season games, the 19th-seeded Rangers dvance to the sectional final Thursday at No. 7 seed Magnificat. "We've been struggling to score in the second half of the season," North Ridgeville coach Tim Hoffman said. "Getting that goal gave us the momentum we needed to keep moving forward." North Ridgeville (5-8-4) added to its lead in the 65th minute when freshman Kai Antonio took a free kick from 25 yards on the far side that was deflected into the net. It was Antonio's third goal of the year. "I really didn't think it was going to go in," she said. "I thought it was going over then I saw it hit that girl's shoulder and go in. I was really excited and I felt really good about myself." With just five seniors on the roster and three in the starting lineup, winning a sectional game for the third year in a row may eventually set the stage for the Rangers to make a deeper tournament run. "We're excited to play for another week," said Gimmel, who is second on the team with seven goals. "We played Mags in the preseason and we're excited to show them how much we've grown." Adrianna Brown started in goal for North Ridgeville and made three saves before giving way to C.C. Bouman, who has been battling a hamstring injury. Bouman played the final 20 minutes, making a pair of saves to bring her season total to a team-leading 73. She may be available for more time Thursday against the Blue Streaks. "I think it's really big for the girls to experience this win," Hoffman said. "After dealing with many injuries this season it's good for them to see they can get a nice solid win in the playoffs." No. 26 seed Berea-Midpark, which snapped a 13-match winless streak Wednesday with a 3-0 win over Elyria, ended the year 2-14-2. The Titans' best chances to score came when Isabella Bartos received a ball in the 27th minute in front of a wide-open goal but was unable to get off a solid shot and when they earned a pair of late corner kicks. Antonio noted the difference in intensity between regular season and tournament soccer. "You know there's more riding on it so there's more pressure on your shoulders," Antonio said. "Scoring a goal is more difficult and it really gets up amped up." Contact Todd Shapiro at (440) 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com. North Ridgeville 2, Berea-Midpark 0 GOALS: (NR) Alyssa Gimmel (53rd minute), Kai Antonio (65th minute) SAVES: (NR) Adrianna Brown 3, C.C. Bouman 3; (BM) Sammy Beckwith 2, Emma Wagner 1 SHOTS ON GOAL: North Ridgeville 5, Berea-Midpark 6 FOULS: North Ridgeville 5, Berea-Midpark 9 OFFSIDES: North Ridgeville 5 CORNER KICKS: North Ridgeville 2, berea-Midpark 3 HALFTIME: 0-0