Lady Greenmen begin 2018 postseason Thursday

The Aurora Girls Soccer team begins postseason play tonight in the Kent DII district as they take on the Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy Royals in the sectional final. The Lady Greenmen come into the game with a 9-4-3 record while the Royals are 9-6-2.

Following a slow start to the season, in what was an 0-2-2 start, the Lady Greenmen have regained their confidence and won a share of the Suburban League American Conference Championship.

“I felt the girls were playing with a tremendous amount of pressure and weren’t enjoying themselves. After our tie with Streetsboro, we decided we wanted to find joy in the game as well as play better soccer,” said head coach Bo Wilson.

The Lady Greenmen would come together and have posted a 9-2-1 record since September 8. Many may be impressed with this mark, however it is something this senior class has expected.

“If you look at what this senior class has done over the last four years, they have certainly upped the pedigree of the program. Every single one of the seniors are very solid soccer players. They have set the bar high for the classes that come after them,” stated Wilson.

With 12 seniors, the anticipation to start the postseason is higher than ever. The Lady Greenmen moved down to Division II this year. They previously were apart of the “district of death” in Division I with teams such as Twinsburg, Hudson, and Walsh.

“Collectively as a group, we are excited to finally show everything we have worked for since we were young. We hope to make a deep run and to leave a lasting mark on this program,” said senior forward Taylor Burick.

The Lady Greenmen faced off against CVCA only a few weeks ago, in a 3-2 thriller with Taylor Burick heading the game-winner past Royals goalkeeper Isabella McClendon with just over three minutes remaining.

The two teams are very similar. Both teams are lead by their strong back lines however feature explosive offensive play. Expect a physical game Thursday night in Veterans Stadium as Aurora will need to play controlled and physical due to CVCA’s length and size.

“Heading into the game, we know we can play better than we did in our first meeting. We have to come out fast and keep pressure on them from start to finish,” said senior defender Jodi Obly.

When asked if playing CVCA for the second time affected anything, Wilson had a simple response: “You are who you are. The formations are pretty much going to stay the same and you’re very familiar with one another. Every game has its own character so I don’t put a lot of stock in how a previous game went as opposed to what we’re going to face.”

As previously stated, the keys to the game are simple for the Lady Greenmen. First, it is important they score first. With the the comfort of playing at home, this will take out any early momentum the Royals may have. Also, as previously stated, Aurora must aim to control the ball while playing with their signature physicality.

If they can achieve this, there is no doubt the Lady Greenmen will be playing in the district final game on Monday, September 22.

“I’m excited for these girls. They have worked extremely hard since the winter to prepare. I believe they’re ready for this postseason and I’m excited to see what they can accomplish. As long as we play hard and leave everything on the field, win or lose, I will be proud of them,” stated Wilson.

Best of luck to the Lady Greenmen as they begin what is hopefully a deep postseason run to finish off a memorable four years.