PARMA—Fairview’s girls soccer team made history on Saturday, capturing the second district championship in school history with a hard-fought 3-1 victory over Orrville in a Division IV title game.
The win not only cemented the Warriors as champions but also marked a milestone for head coach Scott Underwood, who celebrated his 100th career victory at the school.
After a season that began with 15 players and was whittled down to just 13 healthy athletes due to injuries, the Warriors proved that resilience and teamwork could overcome any challenge.
“It couldn’t be a better experience,” Underwood said. “If you look at what we accomplished with the roster of 13 healthy players in the playoffs, these girls are remarkable. They just kept on pushing. They keep on performing, and they just find ways to win.”
The championship battle started fast. Makenzie Willis, a standout freshman in the attacking midfield, scored first for Fairview at 23:23 in the opening half.
“I told her I watched some of the film on Orrville games, and like any goalkeeper, they struggle with that ball under the post,” Underwood explained. “She picked her head up, saw the keeper was off her line, and popped that thing under the crossbar to put us up 1-0.”
Orrville responded quickly with a goal at 20:29, but Veronica Ramunno, assisted by Molly Koczur, put the Warriors back in front at 17:09, reclaiming momentum before halftime.
Koczur netted an insurance goal at 11:06, assisted by Bella Pecchio-Schuerger, giving Fairview a two-goal cushion and effectively sealing the victory.
“When you go up two goals with 11 minutes left, you better win the game,” Underwood said. “Our girls, they didn’t back off, and they didn’t take rest; they stepped up, they kept attacking, and they just used what we work on every day.”
The victory also served as redemption for the Warriors, who fell to Chagrin Falls in last year’s district final, 8-2.
“We had so much adversity this year, trying to come off of that crazy season we had last year, but the girls turned it on when the playoffs got here. They did what they needed to do,” Underwood said.
Playing with such a small roster posed unique challenges throughout the postseason.
“Everybody has to perform. No one player can have a day off, because I have nobody to put in her place,” Underwood explained. “We had one out sick for the semifinal down in Salem, so we had one sub for that game. To be able to persevere with this small roster, I’m just so happy for my seniors that they got to be part of this… It was such a magical day.”
The Warriors now advance to Tuesday’s regional semifinals at Ravenna High School, where they will face Niles McKinley. Despite the road ahead, Underwood is confident in his team’s ability to rise to the occasion.
“Whatever they were having struggles with during the season, when the playoffs got here, they got over it, and they got together, and they banded together as a team. This is what happens. It’s been a beautiful couple of weeks,” he said. “In 2010, we went to the regionals and lost to Hathaway Brown. It was a young team that was shell-shocked by the regional. But I don’t think this team that I have now, I don’t think any moment will be too big for them. We know we have an uphill battle on Tuesday, but every game so far has been an uphill battle, and we persevered.”
