Girls district soccer: North Ridgeville notches first semifinal win in program history

NORTH RIDGEVILLE — It was a history-making night for North Ridgeville on Tuesday. The No. 12 seed Rangers won their first district semifinal game in the program's 30-years-plus history with a 2-0 victory over No. 18 seed North Canton Hoover at Ranger Stadium. The win improved North Ridgeville's record to 11-3-3 and moves the Rangers to the district title game. North Ridgeville faces No. 4 seeded Twinsburg at 2 p.m., Saturday at Warren Howland. A 70-minute weather delay prior to the start of Tuesday's game only postponed the start, but it didn't delay North Ridgeville's resolve to take control of the game early. Freshman forward Vivian Caine put the Rangers on the board first as she scored on a header on an assist by junior midfielder Gabi Betonte at 33:40 of the first half. North Ridgeville outshot North Canton Hoover 10-3 in the first half and 16-2 in the second. However, the Vikings made the middle of the field tough to solve. The Rangers' persistence paid off. Betonte converted a 20-yard shot at 34:30 of the second half to give North Ridgeville some breathing space. Junior forward Addy Schuster assisted. Betonte's goal came 37 seconds after Caine's shot hit the crossbar. The district semis has special meaning for Betonte. She tore her right ACL and meniscus against Normandy in the second game of the 2024 season and had to miss the remainder of her sophomore year. "This game means a lot," said Betonte. "We made history tonight. To be able to host this game also meant a lot. Everyone came out to support us. It also meant something special to me because I've not been able to play in a playoff game before, because I was injured last year. I hope I inspired people to never give up. Today was a big day for everybody." Schuster just missed a goal when her shot hit the crossbar at 17:13 of the first half. The Rangers improved to 7-0-3 in their last 10 games. "We talk a lot about how playoffs mean more than the actual season, because people know if they lose that their season is over, so they're going to go out there as hard as they can, because it means more than the regular season," said Caine. North Ridgeville coach Scott Santa was confident his team was ready. "An hour later to start the game is never ideal but these girls had their music going in the locker room," said Santa. "They were ready and they were locked in the whole hour break that we had. They put on a great match for all the fans." The shutout was the North Ridgeville's fifth in its last 10 games. The Rangers have given up just seven goals in the same timespan. "That's kind of the game of soccer," said Santa. "You just have to put shots up. Hoover did a great job of putting numbers behind the ball. Their goalkeeper did a good job keeping the shots we were making out of the net. They blocked off the middle so we could only make shots that had some distance or from crosses that were giving us little chance. Hats off to my girls for keeping the fight and keep trying what we know what we're supposed to be doing. "We've played tough opponents all year. We know Twinsburg is a threat and they can attack but they better know what we can do to them as well, because playoffs is a whole new season. The girls have a fire inside of them that they are ready to unleash. These girls keep attacking." Contact Paul Heyse at 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com. North Ridgeville 2, North Canton Hoover 0 GOALS: (NR) Vivian Caine, Gabi Betonte. ASSISTS: (NR) Betonte, Addy Schuster. SHOTS ON GOAL: North Ridgeville 26, North Canton Hoover 5 SAVES: Brynn Blakemore (North Ridgeville), 4; Marissa Oakes (North Canton Hoover), 13 CORNER KICKS: North Ridgeville 7, North Canton Hoover 1 HALFTIME: North Ridgeville, 1-0