This area is rich in soccer — you can ask anyone involved with the Owens Community College women’s soccer program.

In its first season as a varsity program with mostly local recruits, the Express have already taken off as one of the region’s best, finishing with a 12-8 record. Coach Mary Whisler was spotted frequently at local prep soccer matches.

Three local girls teams won league championships — Oak Harbor, Lake, and Northwood — and as a result all three coaches are named Alan Miller Jewelers Press Co-Coaches of the Year.

Three players from the Press coverage area have earned second-team All-Ohio honors this season in voting by the Ohio Scholastic Soccer Coaches Association.

Northwood senior forward Jessica Grindle was honored in Division III and Lake junior forward Shelby Antonacci was honored in D-II. The third one plays for Eastwood’s boys team — senior midfielder/forward Caleb Vespi, who also kicked for the football team. Vespi made the second team in the D-II boys voting is an All-Press first team pick on the boys team.

Grindle, Antonacci, and Woodmore senior forward Taylor Avers are this year’s All-Press Co-Players of the Year. Avers was the Northern Buckeye Conference Player of the Year and was featured in a previous edition of The Press. Avers has announced that she is favoring playing at Owens next year.

Grindle is the first player in Northwood history to earn all-state honors in soccer, according to Rangers girls coach Monte Bandeen. Grindle had 23 goals and 12 assists this season and was named the Player of the Year in the Northwest Ohio High School Scholastic Soccer League. The Rangers (16-2) won the league title with a 6-0 record.

“Jessica is a very tireless worker,” Bandeen said. “She's the hardest working player on the team and the most skilled player on the team. She was voted team MVP and is a vocal leader and just an overall great kid.”

Grindle, who earned first-team all-league and all-district honors last season, said she was “shocked” to learn that she was named second-team All-Ohio.

“I found out (Tuesday),” she said. “Everyone was like, 'I heard you got second-team all-state.' I looked at them like they were lying. The season's over with and I had a good season, and so did my team. We had a good season and I'm proud of everyone.”

Grindle finished her career with 76 goals and 33 assists.

“This season was one of my best,” she said. “I was a team leader and I didn't want to let my team down. I wanted to give everyone an opportunity to score and not be a ball hog. I wanted to be considered a team player and not an individual player.”

Antonacci, who is good friends with Grindle, netted 25 goals along with nine assists for Lake this season. She also earned first-team NBC and All-Northwest District honors after leading the Flyers to a 12-4-1 record, including 9-0-1 (first place) in the league.

“Shelby had the year that I expected,” first-year Lake girls’ coach Kevin Lanning said. “It was apparent early on how important the girls felt she was to the team. Based on that, we expected a big year out of her, and 25 goals in any league is a pretty good accomplishment. She's a pretty humble kid. She's the type of player every coach wants on their team.”

Antonacci said she was surprised she earned all-state honors in D-II. Her 38 career assists is a school record.

“I was surprised because of the division we were in, because so many other players had the opportunity,” she said. “When I was a freshman, I had other players to help me. As I grew older, I had to take responsibility and I think that helped me as a player, too. Individually, this was my best season. I want to be a team player, and the position I play gives me the opportunity to help other people score. My personal goal was to make sure everyone was working together.”

Vespi helped Eastwood's boys finish 13-4-2 and take second in the NBC with a 7-2-1 record. He tied junior teammate Kevin Sweeney for the team lead in goals (15) and added four assists.

Vespi, a team captain, was a second-team All-Suburban Lakes League and honorable mention all-district pick a year ago.

“He is in an attacking role quite a bit,” Eastwood coach Frank Schemenauer said. “He's got good size and he's fast and has good skills with the ball. He's a real athletic kid. He's good with his left foot and he has a very powerful, accurate shot. He also sends in good crosses. He's a very grounded, respectful kid. He has great individual skill, but he understands the team philosophy as well.”

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