Recap: Girls Soccer Opens Playoffs, Volleyball Coach's 300th Win and More

It's the second season for Solon's soccer, volleyball and cross country teams. The boys' soccer team and the volleyball team have already advanced to district competition next week while the cross country teams will run at their Division I district meets on Saturday.

GIRLS SOCCER

The Lady Comets are the third-seeded team in the Kent Division I district behind Brecksville-Broadview Heights and Hudson, the only two teams to beat them this season. Solon opens tournament action by hosting Kenston tomorrow at 3 p.m. A win in that match would advance the Lady Comets to a possible rematch with Hudson Tuesday night.

Solon closed out a memorable regular season with a 10-0 rout of Normandy to finish at 13-2-1 and 5-0 in the NOC River Division. The Lady Comets set a record for most wins in school history and tied school records for shutouts (10) and fewest goals allowed (nine).

Hannah Schippers netted four goals against Normandy while Maria Collica added a pair of goals. Jordan Spiegle, Arianna Daukss, Jillian Fox and Maddie Kresevic also scored for the winners.

CROSS COUNTRY

Solon's boys are ranked ninth in the state among Division I teams this week and the Comets will begin their road to Columbus at the district meet held at Akron's Goodyear Park tomorrow.

Solon won the NOC Valley Division title with three of its runners placing in the Top 10 at the conference championships. Kevin Blank was fifth in a time of 17:20 and was followed across the finish line by Dan Urbanek (seventh - 17:27), Max Haiss (eighth - 17:30), John Riordan (14th - 17:42) and Grant Behnke (15th - 17:43).

The Lady Comet cross country team was fourth in the NOC Valley Division race, led by Therese Haiss' fourth place overall finish in a time of 20:07. Kelsey Aamoth was 12th (20:44), Geneva Sandridge finished 18th (21:05), Abby Paige placed 24th (21:25) and Julia Haiss was 34th (22:21).

Solon's girls will join the boys at Akron Goodyear Park tomorrow.

GIRLS TENNIS

Solon's doubles duo of Tinisee Kandakai and Jamie Marks placed fourth at the Division I sectional to advance to the Oberlin district tournament. The Kandakai-Marks team fell in the first round at the district, dropping a tough 6-2, 7-5 decision to eventual district champs Allison Pavlansky and Gabrielle Brant of Canfield.

The Lady Comet netters finished off the season at 14-6 overall and placed second in the NOC Valley Division. Kandakai was second at first singles, Marks finished fourth at second singles and Monika Bandi was third at third singles. The first doubles team of Daisy Chung and Danielle Pivovar took a first place and the second doubles duo of Lisa Guo and Hailey Baird were second at second doubles.

BOYS SOCCER

On a cold, windy and rainy night, Solon advanced in the Division I tournament with a of Walsh Jesuit last night. The victory boosted the Comets to 9-4-3 overall on the season and advances them to Monday's 7 p.m. district semifinal showdown against Hudson, a team they edged 1-0 during the regular season.

Jeremy Seaman got Solon on the scoreboard just three minutes into the second half of play against Walsh. Jay Seetharaman added an insurance goal later in the half and goalkeeper Tommy Koenig posted a shutout.

The Comets dropped a tough 1-0 decision to Amherst Steele (ranked ninth in Ohio) in their final regular season match. Koenig came up with three saves in the contest but Solon could not find the net against the talented Amherst team.

VOLLEYBALL

Solon has advanced to the semifinals of its own Division I district tournament as the Lady Comets bested Garfield Heights 25-6, 25-8, 25-5 and 25-4, 25-10, 25-13 in sectional play this week. Solon, the third seed, will take on second-seeded Brecksville-Broadview Heights at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday with a district final berth on the line.

Lady Comet head coach Missy Fitz-Gerald picked up her 300th career victory in a 22-25, 25-21, 25-19 win against Mentor at the Gilmour Invitational earlier this month. "I have had a lot of great kids and parents over the years that have been truly dedicated to the Solon volleyball program and supportive of me and my coaching staff and for that I feel truly grateful," said Fitz-Gerald. "Right now I am focused on getting the girls to play their best as a team in the tournament."

A trio of juniors have helped spark the Lady Comets this season as Kristi Tekavec led the team kills (299), Kaylee Kruse was tops in digs (440) and Monica Chehade led the team in assists (580) during the regular season.