BOARDMAN — Revenge was sweet and the timing couldn’t have been better for Kirtland.
The Hornets flipped the script from a regular-season defeat, blanking Cardinal Mooney, 1-0, in a Division V regional semifinal on Tuesday at Boardman High School to advance to Saturday’s regional championship game against Chippewa at North Royalton.
It was just 27 days ago that Mooney handed Kirtland a 2-0 setback. This time, the Hornets’ defense—and a highlight-reel goal—made sure history didn’t repeat itself.
Junior Lexi Vosicky delivered the game’s lone strike midway through the first half, collecting a pass from Gabby D’Amato before launching a perfectly placed shot from 30 yards out that sailed over the goalkeeper’s head and into the net at the 22:31 mark.
“We traveled the ball up the field and Gabby D’Amato passed me it, turning into me, taking a touch and shooting,” Vosicky said.
Mooney pressed relentlessly after that, hitting the crossbar twice, but Kirtland goalkeeper Catherine Bradshaw stood tall with 14 saves to preserve the shutout.
“Catherine made some crucial saves,” said head coach Josh Sladick. “She was off her line a lot, which is great. She’s more comfortable coming out and collecting that. I couldn’t ask for anything more from the defense. It was fantastic all the way around. Their communication was on point. The way the girls worked for each other, and they were stepping up when they needed to. I am a very happy coach tonight.”
Sladick admitted the Hornets had to weather an early storm before finding their rhythm.
“It was fantastic,” he said of avenging the earlier loss. “I thought we started off a little slow, a little sluggish, but they worked through the nerves. We weathered the storm for the first 10 minutes, and from that point on, the girls just did what they do. They were able to possess the ball. Credit to Mooney, they did a fantastic job of putting us under pressure and creating opportunities in those first 10 minutes. I thought, honestly, we were going to start off going down one, but Lauren (Palagyi) and Gianna (Trem) made a fantastic recovery run. Same with Kylie (Sayle) and Sarah (Zivko). They came up massive in the first half, for sure, and throughout the game.”
Sladick praised his team’s ball movement and patience in finding scoring opportunities.
“We were able to catch them in pockets of space that they were providing,” he said. “If we were able to find those pockets of space and get the ball going side to side in a timely fashion, we could catch them on a counterattack. When we were able to exploit that space, that’s when we were effective.”
Vosicky’s vision and control, he added, helped set the tone for the Hornets’ offensive rhythm.
“I think Lexi had great field vision tonight with the ball at her feet, knowing when to dribble and when to pass, and her through balls over to Megan (Urbanick) quite a few times, even over to Anna (Dumstorff), definitely created some dangerous opportunities for us fighting that first half,” Sladick said. “A lot of it was just grit, just putting our head down and putting in the work, doing what we needed to do to make sure that they didn’t have a clean look or be able to possess the ball in a way that they definitely are capable of.”
Vosicky said this matchup had a different energy than the first meeting.
“The first time we played Cardinal Mooney, we came off a harsh losing streak, and we definitely didn’t have the best mindset,” she said. “I think that this time we went in with confidence, aggressiveness, and we were eager to pull out a win.”
The Hornets’ bench also drew praise from their coach.
“I couldn’t be happier,” Sladick said. “I’m pleased all the way around with everyone’s performance. Everyone, even the bench players, was in it. They were keeping our girls going. Every time the girls came off, they had a jacket or blanket ready for them, so kudos to the bench as well.”
With the win, Kirtland improved to 15-6 and is one victory away from a return to the state final four.
“I’ve got an immense amount of respect for Chippewa’s program with what they’ve been able to do historically,” Sladick said. “For us, it’s going to be going back to the game film. We’re going to watch, we’re going to learn, and then we’re going to get out there and train Thursday and Friday so when Saturday comes around, we’ll be mentally ready, and we’ll be physically ready.”
