It was a banner year for Botkins boys soccer team, which was reflected by the Trojans sweeping Western Ohio Soccer League player and coach of the year honors.
Botkins senior Cody Meyer was named player of the year while coach Kevin Lynch was named coach of the year when all-WOSL boys teams were released earlier this month. Sixteen other area boys were named to first or second team.
Lehman Catholic senior Grace Monnin and Anna coach Mike Noll were named player and coach of the year, respectively, when all-WOSL girls team were released. Fourteen other area girls were named first or second team.
BOYS
Meyer is a senior defender for the Trojans and helped the team not allow a goal in any league match. Botkins also set an all-time low for goals allowed in a season with 11 and tied a record for shutouts in a season with 11.
Botkins sophomores Denton Homan, Zane Paul and Nathan Schneider were also named first team with Meyer while junior Andrew Monnin and sophomore Zack Ware were named second team.
Paul, a midfielder, led Botkins with 23 goals while Schneider, Ware, and Monnin each scored nine. Schneider led Botkins with seven assists.
The Trojans finished 13-2-1 overall and won the WOSL with a 7-0 record. Lynch completed his 13th season as coach and has a career record of 147-64-21.
Jackson Center’s Clay Akers and Jerron Reese were named first team while Garrett Heitkamp was named second team. Akers, a junior, had 12 goals and four assists. Heitkamp, a junior, had three goals and two assists.
Lehman Catholic senior Conor O’Leary and junior Elijah Jock were named first team, while junior Matthew McDonald and sophomore Will Voisard were named second team. Jock scored seven goals and had five assists, while McDonald scored eight goals. Voisard had 116 saves.
New Knoxville seniors Joseph Baende and Zach Davis were named first team and sophomores Patrick Covert and Jose Maria Rabadan were named second team. Baende led the Rangers with 19 goals and 12 assists while Covert scored 15 goals and had 10 assists. Rabadan scored 15 goals and had nine assists, while Davis scored seven goals and had four assists.
Botkins’ Dalton Lane and Xavier Monnin, Fairlawn’s Seth Puckett and Lukas Smith, Jackson Center’s Bryce Carter and Sean March, Lehman’s Michael Denning and Christian Goettemoeller and New Knoxville’s Josh Deitsch and Jacklyn Leffel were named honorable mention.
GIRLS
Monnin is a four-year starter for Lehman and scored 14 goals and had four assists. Seniors Grace Olding and Hannah Giguere and junior Ava Behr were also named first team, while senior Carly Edwards and sophomore Lindsey Magoteaux were named second team.
Olding scored six goals and had a team-high 18 assists, while Behr scored nine goals and had eight assists. Giguere had eight shutouts while Magoteaux scored 16 goals and had five assists.
Anna juniors Michaela Ambos, Taylor Kauffmann, Taylor Noll and Savanna Hostetler and senior Claire Bensman were named first team while senior Kelsie McKinney was named second team.
Noll, a striker, scored 39 goals and had 19 assists while Kauffmann scored 30 goals and had 10 assists. Ambos and Bensman are defenders and helped Hostetler post 11 shutouts. Hostetler had 71 saves. McKinney, a wing, scored seven goals and had one assist.
Mike Noll repeats as coach of the year after leading the Rockets to their second consecutive WOSL title with a 7-0 league record.
Botkins seniors Maddie Altherr and Grace Homan and freshman Carmen Heuker were named first team. Homan, a four-year letterman, broke several school records including saves in a game (31), saves in a season (200) and career saves (489). Altherr is also a four-year letterwinner and led the team in steals. Heuker is the fastest player on the team according to coach Kendra Berryman and has excellent foot skills.
Anna’s Brooke Hemsworth and Adriana Ashford, Botkins’ Boston Paul and Sydney Meyer and Lehman’s Anna Cianciolo and Olivia Monnin were named honorable mention.
