SOSA Staff Report
The Ohio Scholastic Soccer Coaches Association (OSSCA) announced its All-Ohio teams Sunday evening and 11 local athletes were included on the lists.
Six boys and five girls from SOSA’s coverage area were present while Wheelersburg’s Aaron Jolly led the boys selections and Chillicothe’s Addie Erslan did the same on the girls side.
CREDIT: Renee Nemeth/SOSA
Jolly led the Pirates to an overall mark of 17-2 and a 9-1 mark in the Southern Ohio Conference … good enough for an outright league crown. Erslan led the Cavaliers to a 15-3-2 campaign, as well as an outright Frontier Athletic Conference title at a pristine 10-0.
Both of those players were named first-team All-Ohioans, Jolly in Division III and Erslan in Division II.
The only local player to be named All-Ohio in Division II on the boys side was Unioto’s Vijay Wangui, who is a second-team selection. All year long, Wangui provided a spark for the Shermans’ offense. He even set a single-game goal record in a win over Westfall on Sept. 9.
In Division III, Minford’s Adam Cordle, Valley’s Cameron Phillips and South Webster’s pair of Gabe Ruth and Gabriel Roth were all second-team selections. Cordle led the Falcons to a 12-5-1 mark, Phillips was the Indians’ go-to player during an 8-8-3 campaign, and Ruth and Roth helped the Jeeps reach a regional final, where they lost to Wellington.
Joining Erslan with All-Ohio honors in Division II on the girls side are Wheelersburg goalkeeper Morgan Bivens, Waverly forward Loren Moran and McClain forward Kerigan Pollard.
Bivens was instrumental in the Pirates’ 14-3-1 finish alongside a share of the SOC title, Moran was the Tigers’ top goal scorer and helped her team clinch its first-ever share of an SOC title, and Pollard was by far McClain’s best player, leading the team in goals by a wide margin.
The area’s only girl in Division III to be recognized was Zane Trace’s Haynna Addy, who led the Pioneers in scoring.