'It's been a fun season.' Cincinnati Country Day returns to DIII state championship game

The Ohio High School Athletic Association Division III girls soccer state tournament saw an all-Cincinnati semifinal with Cincinnati Country Day and Madeira battling for a trip to the state championship game.

An early lead grew and grew for Cincinnati Country Day as the Nighthawks topped the Madeira Amazons 4-0 to reach the state finals for the second consecutive season and the fifth time in six seasons.

Early goal gives CCD a permanent lead

While the Nighthawks have a roster littered with players who have experience in deep postseason runs, it was a freshman who put the team ahead early. Just around 90 seconds into the contest, Josie Hyden was open with the ball and fired a shot right into the back of the net for a 1-0 lead.

"Josie's never played in the midfield until we moved her in Week 2," Cincinnati Country Day head coach Theresa Hirschauer said. "She's done such a great job."

The one-goal lead held until the first half had eight minutes remaining when Megan Zimmerman made it a 2-0 game going into the half. Cincinnati Country Day put the game away in the second half on goals from Kendall Weber and Elizabeth Zimmerman. The game was the 12th for the Nighthawks where both Elizabeth and Megan Zimmerman scored goals.

"They play so well together," Hirschauer said of the Zimmermans. "Whether it's playing short passing or playing physical, they're special players. It's been a fun season."

Nighthawks outscoring postseason opponents 36-0

While Madeira made multiple chances to equalize, the Cincinnati Country Day defense found a way to snuff out any scores the Amazons needed.

"We do a really good job of keeping our shape," Hirschauer said. "Sydney Hardesty is the best defender I've ever coached in 34 years. (Hardesty) and Melissa Teke and Sam Easter are three seniors so they communicate really well.

"(Madeira forward) Anna Cornejo is one of the best strikers in the state. She's faster than other girls we're going to play. It was a great challenge but I think we played really good team defense."

Through six postseason games, the Nighthawks haven't allowed a single goal while outscoring their opponents 36-0. The shutout was 14th overall for the Nighthawks, led by sophomore goalie Alyssa Easter.

Senior sendoff for Madeira

Madeira wrapped up its season as Cincinnati Hills League champions for the first time since 2014 and earned its first regional championship since winning the Division II state championship in 2010.

The Amazons finished 12-6-4 with seven seniors departing the team. Graduating members of the Amazons include: Eva Apanius, Mariana Caceras, Mia Dressell, Katie Dunn, Rachel Gaffney, Maddie Nahrgang and Sophie Suerver

A rematch of 2022 waits in the state finals

While Cincinnati Country Day (21-2) repeated as champion on its side of the bracket, so too did Region 10 champion Ottawa-Glandorf (22-1). The Titans reached the Division III final after a 5-1 victory over Akron Manchester.

The state final match will be a repeat of last season when the Nighthawks won the championship with a 1-0 victory after a goal from Elizabeth Zimmerman.

"It's hard to go back-to-back," Hirschauer said. "It's hard to have the target on you the whole entire time and so we're excited to be back and I'll think about (Ottawa-Glandorf).

"They're a great team and have a great senior class. This will be the third time they're in the state semifinals so we're looking forward to the challenge."

The two will repeat in the Division III state final at 7 p.m. on Nov. 10 at Historic Crew Stadium in Columbus.