One defensive clearance. Four perfectly connected passes. One unforgettable goal.
With their season hanging in the balance, Rootstown Boys Soccer delivered the biggest victory in program history Sunday.
Senior Sam Textor scored his second goal of the afternoon in overtime, lifting the Rovers to a dramatic 4-3 victory over previously unbeaten Open Door Christian in the Division V Region 17 championship game at Ravenna High School.
The victory gave Rootstown its first regional championship and first trip to the OHSAA state semifinals.
The Rovers (17-2-2) will face Norwayne on Wednesday, Nov. 11, at 7 p.m., with a berth in Sunday’s state championship game on the line.
For a program that has won three consecutive district championships but had fallen short of the Final Four, Sunday’s breakthrough was particularly meaningful.
Rootstown coach Charlie Voth, now in his 26th season leading the program, celebrated the accomplishment with his players after the victory.
“It was freaking awesome,” Voth told the Record-Courier. “It feels so good for these kids.”
From heartbreak to history
The Rovers appeared to be in control after building a 3-1 lead early in the second half, but Open Door Christian refused to go away.
The Patriots (19-1-2) scored twice in the final 14 minutes of regulation, including the equalizer with just 1:16 remaining, to force overtime.
Suddenly, Rootstown’s historic opportunity was in jeopardy.
The Patriots continued to apply pressure during the extra period, nearly completing the comeback on a corner kick.
Senior Caleb Fillmore, who had scored Rootstown’s opening goal, came to the rescue.
With the ball threatening to cross the goal line, Fillmore made a critical clearance to keep the Rovers’ championship hopes alive.
Goalkeeper Noah Zager also played a pivotal role in surviving Open Door’s offensive pressure. He finished with six saves in 86 minutes.
The Rovers needed one more opportunity.
They created it with a sequence that demonstrated the experience and chemistry of their senior class.
Brayden Dougherty started the counterattack by finding Tycho Smolk, who quickly moved the ball to Zach Pastor.
Pastor sent a perfectly timed pass down the right side to Textor, who raced toward the goal, beat his defender, and fired a shot toward the far post.
The ball found the back of the net in the 86th minute.
Game over.
Regional champions.
Textor’s golden goal completed a remarkable turnaround for the Rovers, who had watched a two-goal lead disappear before finding a way to win.
The senior finished with two goals, while Pastor assisted on three of Rootstown’s four scores.
For Textor, whose offseason preparation helped produce a breakout senior season, the championship-winning moment represented the culmination of years of work.
He told the Record-Courier he had been waiting for that moment his entire life.
Rovers build early advantage
Rootstown struck first midway through the opening half.
With 24:06 remaining before halftime, Pastor delivered a free kick into the penalty area, where Fillmore redirected the ball with his head to give the Rovers a 1-0 advantage.
Open Door Christian answered when Brayden Bendik scored with 11:50 remaining in the half.
The Rovers regained the lead just before the break.
With 3:15 remaining, Pastor connected with Textor, who slipped a shot past the Patriots’ goalkeeper at the near post to make it 2-1.
Rootstown carried that advantage into halftime and wasted little time adding to it after the break.
Junior Dylan Boland extended the lead to 3-1 with 29:45 remaining in regulation, striking a left-footed volley toward the far post.
At that point, the Rovers were positioned to secure their first regional championship in regulation.
But Open Door Christian had other plans.
Bendik scored again with 13:23 remaining, cutting the deficit to 3-2.
Then, with just 1:16 left, freshman Flynn Yoho completed the Patriots’ comeback, tying the game at 3-3 and setting up overtime.
The Patriots held a 10-5 advantage in shots on goal and a 4-1 edge in corner kicks, but Rootstown capitalized on its opportunities.
Fillmore’s goal-line clearance and Textor’s winning strike ultimately made the difference.
A breakthrough years in the making
Rootstown’s regional championship represents the next step in a sustained period of success.
The Rovers entered the postseason having captured consecutive district titles in 2024 and 2025.
They added a third straight district championship on Oct. 31 with a convincing 5-1 victory over Kirtland, then defeated United by the same score in the regional semifinals.
Sunday brought a significantly more difficult challenge.
Open Door Christian entered the regional championship game unbeaten through 21 contests and had scored more than 100 goals this season.
The Patriots also had defeated Rootstown, 2-1, in their only previous recorded meeting, a 2021 tournament contest.
This time, the Rovers found a way to reverse the outcome.
The 17 victories also tie Rootstown’s 2017 team for the second-highest single-season win total in program history, trailing only the 18 victories recorded in 2009.
But this Rootstown team has already accomplished something neither of those groups achieved.
It has advanced to the Final Four.
Now, the Rovers are two victories away from a state championship.
Chagrin Falls battles Bay in regional final
STREETSBORO — While Rootstown celebrated its historic championship, Chagrin Falls Boys Soccer saw its season end Sunday in the Division IV Region 14 final.
Bay defeated the Tigers, 2-1, behind two goals from senior Oliver Marotta, the Greater Cleveland Scholastic Soccer Coaches Association’s Division IV Player of the Year.
Chagrin Falls finished 17-5 after reaching the regional championship game for the second consecutive season.
The Tigers entered the contest hoping to avenge a 4-0 regular-season loss to the Rockets on Oct. 3.
They turned in a much more competitive performance in the rematch.
Chagrin Falls remained organized defensively through the opening stages and generated occasional opportunities on the counterattack.
In the 16th minute, senior Colin Struk-Marn created a scoring opportunity for Elliot Kler, whose attempt found the side netting.
Bay eventually broke through in the 30th minute.
Andrew Starnes kept an attacking sequence alive near the end line and delivered a ball to Marotta, who headed it into the goal for a 1-0 advantage.
The Rockets carried that lead into halftime.
Four minutes into the second half, Marotta struck again, finishing from near the edge of the six-yard box to extend Bay’s lead to 2-0.
Despite the deficit, the Tigers continued to battle.
Senior goalkeeper Ethan Nielsen kept Chagrin Falls within striking distance, including a second-half save on a long-range attempt by Bay’s Evan Catteau.
The Tigers finally broke through in the closing minute.
With 40 seconds remaining, Struk-Marn initiated a designed set piece that appeared intended for Jake Benzel before the ball was played across to freshman Rowan Hoch.
Hoch finished from the top of the penalty area, scoring his sixth goal of the season and cutting Bay’s lead to 2-1.
Chagrin Falls could not generate another opportunity in the final seconds.
The Rockets (17-2-4) advanced to the state semifinals for the 20th time in school history.
Chagrin Falls coach Brian McKenna praised his team’s performance and the progress made by a senior class that helped transform the program.
The Tigers won 36 games over the past two seasons and reached consecutive regional finals, establishing a standard the program hopes to maintain.
Although the Tigers fell short of their first state semifinal appearance since 2003, their season included a second consecutive CVC Valley Division championship, a district title and a dramatic overtime regional semifinal victory against Lake Catholic.
That win came on Grayson Fisher’s golden goal with 25 seconds remaining in the first overtime.
Sunday’s rematch with Bay ended the Tigers’ tournament run, but it also demonstrated how much they had improved against one of Ohio’s most accomplished programs.
Rootstown turns its attention to Norwayne
With Chagrin Falls eliminated, Rootstown carries the Chagrin Valley Conference‘s remaining hopes into the boys soccer state semifinals.
The Rovers will face Creston Norwayne (16-4-1), which advanced past Toledo Ottawa Hills on penalty kicks in Sunday’s Division V Region 18 championship.
OHSAA Division V State Semifinal
- Matchup: Rootstown (17-2-2) vs. Norwayne (16-4-1)
- Date: Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2026
- Time: 7 p.m.
- Location: To be announced
The winner advances to the Division V state championship on Sunday, Nov. 15, at 4 p.m. at ScottsMiracle-Gro Field in Columbus.
For Rootstown, the opportunity represents uncharted territory.
And after surviving an undefeated opponent, a blown two-goal lead and an overtime scare, the Rovers have demonstrated they are capable of handling the pressure that comes with it.
