Year End Thank Yous:
Coaches - For all your time effort and caring in helping to escort out sons into adulthood.  Mariemont is very rare to have such soccer knowledge, willing to spend the time to set an example for our young men.
Peter McBride - "The Voice of the Warriors."  Peter hasn't had a son in the program for 5 years, but he keeps paying it forward.  I can't tell you how many compliments I have heard from other teams about Peter's impartiality, accent and 'approachableness'.
Andrea Uchtman - For stepping away from the social aspect of watching her son play and into the realm of recording stats.  She approached the job professionally, by reading  the NCAA manual on soccer stats, and stayed focused on doing a great job for the team.  If you review the record book, there might be a couple of places past years where the goalie's mom gave the goalie a save every time he touched the ball, shot on goal or not.  It's efforts like Andrea's that makes the Warrior Record Book viable.
Donna Goheen - For Administrating the team.  There are untold hours invested in communicating all the changes in schedule, venues and plans.  Over the last 3 years, she has become an IT expert.  She figured out how to send a million emails without clogging up the servers.  She figured out how to send emails without sharing everyone's email address.  She's been available noon and night (not morning) to make these communications.  Whoever, volunteers to be Parent Administrator next year will have very big shoes to fill.
Holly Walsh - For treasuring the team.  Holly was so frugal that we had enough left over to hold the team party at 20th Century.  Holly also held the responsibility of being a captain's mom, which is a lot like administrator to the president.  You have to be there to tell him that he can't lead by watching the polls and make sure your captain doesn't miss a step.
Jenny Ferguson - Holly Walsh - Missy Holliday - Sam Dillard Memorial event.  This was a huge undertaking, arranging everything from concession to parking attendants.  You made the community look good.
MaryBeth York - Senior night.  Well hosted event
Renee Henderson  - Youth Soccer night events.  No one has more experience in keeping kids busy than Renee.
Jill Colaw - Arranging drinks providers for the varsity.
Nancy Vonder Ahe - Arranging drinks for the junior varsity and main communicator to the webmaster on all things JV related.
Tom Nerl - Athletic Director who acts like soccer is the biggest sport at the school, even though his kids play football. 
Fans - for great support as always.

"Web Viewers" - It's been another fun year, especially for a guy that got to watch two sons on the field.  What an honor.  We've had over 11,500 web page hits in the last two years.  I personally have accounted for 10,000 in  trying to admire my own work.  Thanks for all the encouragement, it's been a labor of love.

                                Kevin Finn - Webmaster

Individual Honors - Congratulations to the players below who have been recognized by their opponents' coaches as being the best that they faced during the season.  These players have also joined their peers in the record book.

Chris Finn 1st Team - CHL
  1st Team - SW District
  1st team All City - Cincinnati Enquirer
   
Johnny Wirthlin 1st Team - CHL
  1st Team - SW District
  1st team All City - Cincinnati Enquirer
   
Quinn Budig 1st Team - CHL
  1st Team - SW District
   
Andrew Fields 2nd Team - CHL
   
Josh Colaw Hon Mention - CHL
   
Alex Goheen Hon Mention - CHL
   
Taylor Henderson Hon Mention - CHL
   
Captain Award Quinn Budig
Captain Award Quinn Budig
Warrior Award David Finn
MVP Chris Finn

As the Playoffs Played Out - State Champions- Worthington Christian won out over Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy 2-1 in the first overtime session.  Reports are that the Worthington Christian first goal was an own goal when the CVCA goalie mishandled the ball.  OUCH.  Sometimes soccer will tear your heart out. 

Congratulations to Worthington Christian, this is their second year in a row playing in the Div III state championship.  The Seven Hills parents report that they are still a young team and poised for many more tournament runs.

Congratulations to the other State Championship winners, they completed a Central Ohio sweep of the tournaments. 
Div I: Gahana Lincoln beat Cleveland St Ignatius 1-0, after remaining scoreless through both overtime periods, Lincoln scored on the 10th and final shootout attempt to take a 4-3 advantage.

Div II: Columbus St Frances DeSales beat Bay Village Bay 1-0.

The Record Book - has been updated  New entries include:
     Johnny Wirthlin - 10 Goals - T21 and 6 Assists - T20
     Andrew Fields - 7 Goals - T36
     Quinn Budig - 7 Assists - T17
     Zack Uchtman - 4.5 Shutouts - 9th all time
We finally found a home on the main panel for the Record Book Button - check it out. The Record Book was meticulously researched and assembled by Chandler Hatch with website design expertise by Tara Hatch.  Since it's inception, Chris Miller and Andrea Uchtman have kept detailed stats so that we can continue it's integrity.

Underclassmen - Take the positives from this season.  Build on them.  Character is not based on what happens to you in life... It's how you deal with what happens to you in life.  Play soccer, indoor and spring.  Remember the joy you find in the game.  Come back next year ready to grow and succeed.  We'll see you in June 2010.

Bracketology - Mariemont drew an 8th seed (see complete listing in the column on the right).  Perhaps players can draw motivation from this. To view brackets click below:
          Sectional Bracket  bracket complete 10/28/09
          District Bracket  bracket complete 11/2/09
          Regional & State Bracket  bracket complete 11/16
District Brackets are posted on the Southwest District Athletic Board of the OHSAA website: www.swdab.org (website addresses found under the LINKS button)
State Brackets are posted on the OHSAA website: www.ohsaa.org

Smart is Good - Four soccer players were inducted into the Mariemont Chapter of the National Honor Society by the six senior members on Thursday night.
Quinn Budig, Conor Coyan, David Finn and Matt York  joined senior members: Elliot Faulk, Chris Finn, Reed Gerberick, Alex Goheen, Brian Henning and Jason Lonnemann in the NHS.

The NHS honors those that have applied and displayed the four ideals, Scholarship, Service, Leadership and Character in an exemplary manner.  We are all proud that the soccer team is so well represented in such a lofty organization.  These characteristics will serve you well in life.  CONGRATULATIONS NEW INDUCTEES.

As the Playoffs Play Out - State Semi-Finals- Seven Hills beat Springfield's Catholic Central 3-0 to advance to the State Final Four.  They will face Worthington Christian who bested South Webster 2-1.  The Southern Ohio final four will be Tuesday night at Centerville High School at 7:00 pm

The Northern Ohio brackets resulted in Cuyahoga Falls CVCA vs. Doylestown Chippewa at Solon High School in Cleveland.

The winners advance to the State Championship game at Crew Stadium, Friday at noon

District All-Star Game - will be played at Princeton High School on Thursday, Nov 19 at 7:00 pm.  The division III all-star team will play a round robin format against the division II and division I all-star teams.  Only the seniors chosen as First Team All Southwest District will be playing.

Two things to learn from these Playoffs - 1) Seven Hills did not expect to be this good this year because they lost so many starters last year.  They had young players step up and they just came together as a team.   2) The OHSAA can learn from past experiences.  The semi-final game will be held at a soccer field (Centerville HS) instead of a VFW baseball field.

As the Playoffs Play Out - Regional Finals- Seven Hills beat Summit 2-1 on Tuesday night in a very competitive game.  Summit seemed to spend more time in front of Seven Hills' goal, but Seven Hills was very efficient when they got it down there.  Seven Hills went ahead with about 5 min to go and hung on for the win.  Unfortunately, Summit found many occasions in which they didn't agree with the officiating.

Seven Hills will Face Catholic Central (Springfield), who bested Reading 2-1.  The game is scheduled for 3:00 at Princeton High School on Saturday.

This  winner will be the Regional Champions and will play in the State Semi Finals (Final Four) which will undoubtedly be hosted at some innocuous baseball diamond / soccer field in some remote part of the state because somebody, somewhere knows somebody in the OHSAA or because said stadium is equally as inconvenient to both schools. 

(For those of you new to the program, the Warriors played in the State Semi-Final game last year in Chillicothe at a VFW baseball league stadium, that had field turf, brown field turf where the infield was, and a removable pitcher's mound, that was removed, but still humped.  Since the baseball stadium stands were located behind home plate, they were in the corner, and pretty worthless for soccer, they had two small aluminum stand sections and 100 picnic tables for the fans to sit/stand on.  While the other semi-final game was played in Crew Stadium, which was also 2 hours away from Mariemont)

As the Playoffs Play Out - Regional Semi-Finals- Summit beat Dayton Christian 3-0 and Seven Hills beat Yellow Springs 3-1 for their respective District Championships.  Their inevitable Regional Semi-final match-up will be Tue. at Princeton 7:00 pm.  Seven Hills won their regular season match-up, but anything goes in the playoffs.  Skill and perseverance make luck, but sometimes the ball bounces where that skill and perseverance didn't want it to go.  This should be a great game.

Their  winner will face the winner of Reading / Catholic Central, who will also be playing Tuesday night at Hamilton 7:00, to be the Regional Champions and play in the State Semi Finals (Final Four) which will undoubtedly be hosted at some innocuous baseball diamond / soccer field in some remote part of the state because somebody, somewhere knows somebody in the OHSAA or because said stadium is equally as inconvenient to both schools. 

(For those of you new to the program, the Warriors played in the State Semi-Final game last year in Chillicothe at a VFW baseball league stadium, that had field turf, brown field turf where the infield was, and a removable pitcher's mound, that was removed, but still humped.  Since the baseball stadium stands were located behind home plate, they were in the corner, and pretty worthless for soccer, they had two small aluminum stand sections and 100 picnic tables for the fans to sit/stand on.  While the other semi-final game was played in Crew Stadium, which was also 2 hours away from Mariemont)

Take Solace - Cincinnati Country Day went on to get trounced by Dayton Christian 4-0.  So, while it was tough to lose the CCD game, the next level would have required a whole new level of play.  Congratulations to Dayton Christian who won the Cincinnati 1 upper, sectional bracket.  They face Summit for the District Championship, on Saturday at Winton Woods at 7:30.

With That It's Over - The Warriors ended their season with a tough loss to CCD in the second round of the playoffs.  CCD's goalie stopped everything the Warriors threw at him and the Indians managed to score with just under 3 minutes left in the game to secure a date with #4 Dayton Christian.  It's been a bumpy season, but there are usually more things to learn from a tough season than a great season.  We all hope these players learned how to deal with adversity.  Such a lesson will go much further in life than a district or state championship.

Seniors - Thank you for the memories.  We, your fans, know that you will do well in life.

How far have they come?  2 pics = 2,000 words -

1999 Seniors some day    Top row: Will Foran (football traitor), Elliot Faulk, Brian Henning
Bottom row: Jason Lonneman, Chris Finn, Reed Gerberick


2009 Seniors:  Elliot Faulk, Chris Finn, Alex Goheen, Reed Gerberick, Josh Colaw, Jason Lonnemann,
 Christian Stenild, Brian Henning

Underclassmen - Take the positives from this season.  Build on them.  Character is not based on what happens to you in life... It's how you deal with what happens to you in life.  Play soccer, indoor and spring.  Remember the joy you find in the game.  Come back next year ready to grow and succeed.

Still to Come - We still have two more website updates to come.  We will extend thanks to those that made the season possible.  We will update the record book under it's new button (above).  We will recap season honors.  The fall season sports awards night is still to come.

Bracketology - Mariemont drew an 8th seed (see complete listing in the column on the right).  Perhaps players can draw motivation from this. To view brackets click below:
          Sectional Bracket  updated 10/28/09
          District Bracket  updated 10/28/09
          Regional & State Bracket
Brackets are posted on the Southwest District Athletic Board of the OHSAA website: www.swdab.org (website addresses found under the LINKS button)

                            Click here for DIRECTIONS                  
 
 

Seeding Process - The coaches met on Sunday 10/11 to draw seeds.  The teams are ranked based on the regular season.  The highest seed (#1 ranked team) places their team on the bracket.  They can choose a bye or not.  Then the 2nd highest seed chooses, and so on... until the brackets are full.

Grass Record - The Warriors have played 4 games on grass fields, two included an ample dose of rain.  They stand at 2-1-1 (Deer Park & CCS-Reading-Taylor).  Because the Warriors are in their 9th season on field turf and so many schools have added this luxury to their programs, we tend to think that field turf dominates the high school world.  BUT, of the 8 different fields that the Warriors have engaged regular season matches upon, 4 were field turf and 5 were grass.  Add the pre-season scrimmages and 6 were field turf and 5 were grass.

Tackles from Behind - Recently, a striker tackled the sweeper (who had control of the ball) from behind causing the defensive player to receive trainer attention and remain out of the game to be sure serious injuries were not incurred.  The ref thought it was allowable, and awarded the ball to the striker, even though the fans protested, claiming a "tackle from behind is illegal."  This sent your crack research staff to the rules and interpretations sources found in the links button of this website. 

Much to my surprise, I found that the words "from behind" were removed from the laws of soccer, several years ago.  Apparently, "the soccer gods," thought that referees were focusing too much on the direction from which the tackle came, instead of determining whether the tackle was careless, reckless or with excessive force, which would be illegal from any direction.  So, any tackle, which the referee deems to be without carelessness, recklessness or excessive force is OK.  ...And if the tackler gets all ball and the ball causes the player to crash and burn, no matter how violent or excessive it may look, THERE IS NO FOUL. 

Stay tuned, the "soccer gods" might have to rethink this one within the next millennium.

Sectional Round 2 Opponent - The Warriors will play at CCD on Saturday at 2:30 pm.  The Indians bested Clark Montessori 1-0 on Tuesday, to earn a date with Mariemont.  It was an evenly matched game with lots of momentum swings.  Both teams got the ball in front of their opponent's goal plenty of times, but only one ball found the net.  The Warriors will get another chance to play on grass, this one will be as well-conditioned as any.  SEE YOU AT THE GAME

10/27

JV Season - The Junior Varsity Warriors completed their season with a bang, in their 1-0 nail-biter over Madeira.  They finished their season with a very strong record of:  9 wins, 5 losses and 3 ties.  Perhaps most impressive was their undefeated record in the CHL: 4-0-3.  Congratulations Warriors.

Playoff Possibilities - Players are now invited to think about the first playoff game.  With a bye on Tuesday, the #8 Warriors will begin play on Saturday 10/24.  They will play the winner of #7 CCD vs #14 Clark Montessori.  If CCD wins, the Warriors will play at CCD at 1:00 pm.  If Clark wins, they will play at home at 7:30 pm.

Sectionals are at the field of the higher seed (lower number).  After that, they move to neutral sites.

Senior Night - Seniors from all sports and their parents will be honored before the football game on Friday.  Ceremonies begin at 7:00 pm (be there early to get organized)

Thank you to MaryBeth York for organizing Soccer Senior night in a very thorough and professional way. 

Revised Directions to CCS - The directions linked to the Schedules page were to the CCS high school.  Their soccer field is at their elementary school.  The Schedules page has been updated. 

The CCS Elementary School is on Rte 4 just north of I-275.   Pass the Tri-County Assembly of God church and pull into the parking lot (on the right).  The soccer field is on the north side of the school.

10/14

Senior Night - Tuesday 10/13 vs Madeira.  Last home, regular season game.  Come say goodbye to our 8 seniors:
  #2 Josh Colaw
  #3 Alex Goheen
  #4 Jason Lonnemann
  #8 Chris Finn
  #11 Reed Gerberick
  #16 Christian Stenild
  #17 Elliot Faulk
  #19 Brian Henning
Web shout out to MaryBeth York for organizing Senior night. 

Playoff Brackets - Players are NOT invited to think about the playoffs until it is our next game.  Mariemont drew an 8th seed (see complete listing in the column on the right).  Perhaps players can draw motivation from this.  This year Coach chose to take a bye on Tuesday.  Maybe we can get a player or two healthy.  To view brackets click below:
          Sectional Bracket
          District Bracket
          Regional & State Bracket

Playoffs - Players are still NOT invited to think about the playoffs until it is our next game. Players are focusing on Madeira  For the rest of the fans, here's the general schedule:
Sectionals - Tue 10/20 & Sat 10/24
Districts  - Tue 10/27 & Sat 10/31
Regionals - Tue 11/3 & Sat 11/7
State Semis - Tue 11/10
State Finals - Fri 11/13 @ Crew Stadium @ noon

Sectionals are at the field of the higher seed (lower number).  After that, they move to neutral sites.

Seeding Process - The coaches meet on Sunday 10/11 to draw seeds.  The teams are ranked based on the regular season.  The highest seed (#1 ranked team) places their team on the bracket.  They can choose a bye or not.  Then the 2nd highest seed chooses, and so on... until the brackets are full.

In the past, Coach Mehl has chosen to avoid the bye, thinking that he does not want the players to miss a beat.  Brackets should be posted on the Southwest District Athletic Board of the OHSAA website: www.swdab.org by Monday or Tuesday. (website addresses found under the LINKS button)

 

Last Minute Schedule Change - The Varsity game with New Richmond has been moved up to 11:30 am Sat 10/10.

The JV game against New Richmond has been CANCELLED

There is a field conflict with JV Football playing at 9:00.  New Richmond has homecoming and does not want to play their JV game after the varsity game.

10/9

Sewing Skills Needed - Our roving reporter tells us that the #2 jersey of Josh Colaw was cut from his body in the hospital last Saturday.  Perhaps a reconstructed jersey could be hung on the wall of fame in the W T.  We still think that Josh could have found a less painful way to get his jersey retired.

JV - One Week and Counting - The Junior Varsity Warriors complete their season Tue 10/13 vs Madeira.  With 3 games to go they stand at 8-4-3 and no losses in the CHL (3-0-3).  Like the varsity they have had ample issues with injuries.  Like the varsity, you play with the cards that have been dealt.  They still have 1 CHL game left vs Madeira Tuesday.  Fans are encouraged to come see the future of MHS.

Strategy Changes - The Warriors implemented some fundamental changes on Saturday against Summit.  The result was a well played game that ended in a tie with one of the city's better D2 teams.

Walking Wounded - It seems as though we have this discussion every year at this time of the season.  The Warriors added yet another name to the list in Josh Colaw.  Josh Joins Taylor Henderson with shoulder issues and Christian Stenild.  Alright you've received our sympathy and good wishes, now get back to recovering.

10/3
Construction blocking Grandin Rd. at Madison - From the Athletic Dept at Summit: 

Would you please inform your soccer fans that tomorrow Grandin Road at Madison will be closed, due to water main repair.  If driving down Madison Rd., they should stay in the center lane and take the "soft" left turn at the Madison/Grandin Rd. stop light and go down Torrence one block to Herrick.  Turn left on Herrick and that will bring them into our parking lot adjacent to Williams Stadium. 

If they drive via Columbia Parkway to Torrence - they can avoid the construction area by turning right on Herrick off Torrence.

Schedule error - Please note that this website had the times for the Summit games reversed.  Junior Varsity is at 3:00 Varsity at 5:00.

Emergency Mandatory Meeting - Thursday, Sept. 30 at 3:00 pm in Coach Vanags' room

9/28

Ties - It is claimed that playing in a tie is "like kissing your sister" because nobody gets any excitement out of it.  The Warriors have been involved in 3 ties so far, 2 in the CHL.  Wyoming, our most recent tie, has been in 4 ties in the CHL.  CHL teams have been involved in 17 ties to-date.  Too many sisters.

Indian Hill and Deer Park are the only CHL teams without a tie.  They are also the only teams with a losing overall records.  So, to state the obvious, a tie is better than a loss, but it could have been a win.

Yellow Crocs - are 1-1-0  (no ties)

Concussion Precautions - With two bumped heads recently, we would like to remind everyone that Wellington will baseline your child's brain activity for $10.  Should he have a concussion, they have something to compare and will have a much better idea about how much rattling went on inside that head.  After all, it is their BRAIN, they just might need it if this soccer career doesn't pan out.
Details and contact info under PARENTS - CONCUSSION PRECAUTIONS or just click on the link here.

Field Turf - Reading Stadium provided an ugly reminder about why we jumped at the opportunity to install Field Turf.  Grass fields have a growing mud/dirt center from about mid-September on.  Kusel's center stayed like that even after we planted a high-tech hybrid grass with the new stadium facade.

That short little rain shower made Reading's field sloppy to watch and dangerous for the players.  Our field reporter noted that mud might have found its way into the referee's eyes too.

As turf replacement time nears for Kusel, we can help other potential supporters remember why grass wasn't a good alternative.  A a sloppy field neutralizes the skills on the field, creates many dangerous situations for players (at today's health care prices, this may be the most expensive aspect) and can't be practiced upon.  It also means that lacrosse can't be played in the spring when the grass is growing back.  We support our local Athletic Department.

The Challenge Cup - finally resides in Mariemont.  Mr. Nerl has new trophy cases in the Commons for it's display.  Congratulations Warriors.

What Happened to the Crocs? A passionate plea - For those of you new to the program or unfamiliar with the background, Goalie Coach, Jeff Hinebaugh used to prowl the sidelines in his decidedly yellow Crocs.  Apparently, family pressure and an article in Newsweek, see: Make It Stop -The case for stopping a long national nightmare: http://www.newsweek.com/id/150240, have convinced Coach Hinebaugh to deep six the Crocs.  Those Crocs have seen a district final game and the state final four.  They have spurred the Warriors to many a victory.

Well, Coach Hinebaugh, should know that the Newsweek writer has expressed thorough regret for his words and acknowledged that Crocs might be good for America, by creating jobs in a US factory. see: The Sole of America - I walked all over Crocs and now the shoemaker is hurting  http://www.newsweek.com/id/207392,

So FANS, if we're waiting for the winning ways to unleash our enthusiasm, perhaps we should direct our diatribe toward the return of the yellow Crocs.

THE UP-TO-DATE SCORE:  Crocs: 1-0-0 

Congratulations to National Merit Semi-Finalist, Reed Gerberick.  Reed is one of four Mariemont students to earn the honor.  Mrs. Elfers (Senior/College Counselor) says that taking that test will really pay off for Reed in college offers.

Photo Op - We need website photos.  You can send in photos or give them to Kevin Finn on a disc or flash drive (mine or yours).  It would be ideal if you would select the best pictures for posting.  Or, if someone wanted to manage a photo section, we could arrange for the necessary high-level clearance to give them access to the web page.  (This could include an FBI background check, drug screening and making sure that Mr. Nerl can get his hands around you neck if you post anything controversial.)  Kakie G. has offered to take some photos.   We probably need a varsity volunteer too.  Big lenses make a difference but the small cameras take nice photos too.  Photographers get a field pass and don't have to throw a ball back if it hits them.

Re-Schedule - The lightning interrupted Wyoming game has been rescheduled for:
Thursday, Sept. 24 at 6:30 pm on Kusel Field
We think it picks up where it left off at 18:53 in the 1st half 0-0.

Fans - The Warriors appreciate your fan support.  See them come together as a team as the season progresses.  There's plenty of talent that is learning to make the whole better than the sum of the parts.

The 2009 Ball Boy Schedule is posted under the Parents Button.  The Ball boy position is a somewhat thankless position that makes Mariemont look professional and gives the participants a great view of the game.  Thank you for risking you dermis to poison ivy and barbed wire, when you go over the fence on retrieval duty.s