Unbeaten, untied, but still not ranked: Highland soccer picks up 12th win and more respect
September 28, 2023

Now might be a good time to pay attention to the Highland girls soccer team.

The Hornets are fresh off a 5-0 win over Revere on Wednesday and off to their best start in school history.

They beat reigning Division II state champion Copley, sent Gilmour Academy packing 5-1 and snapped a six-game winning streak by North Royalton.

The Minutemen (8-2-1, 4-1) used to be the only other team undefeated in the Suburban League American Conference and they didn’t stand much of a chance against the locomotive that is Highland.

But look at the Division I state coaches poll and there isn’t a Hornet to be found anywhere.

“We talk about records not rankings,” Highland coach Bill Zufall said “We have two seasons. One is the league title and then the other is the state title. The girls have done a great job of staying focused on that.

“Does it bother them? Yeah. What’s been nice is we scrimmaged Walsh, we scrimmaged Twinsburg and we scrimmaged Hoban. We’ve beaten two other state-ranked teams. The girls are ticked about not being ranked, but they’ve focused their energy.”

A flaw in the state coaches poll might be why Highland isn’t ranked

The wrinkle in the state coaches poll is that only three teams from a district can appear in the state poll and Highland is ranked fourth in Greater Akron.

That leaves Medina (10-0), which is ranked first in the state, with one slot. No. 8 Walsh Jesuit (6-2-3) and No. 12 Hudson (10-2-1) take up the other two spots in the coaches poll.

“It definitely drives us as a team,” Hornets midfielder Jillian Miller said. “We have this great record and we’re winning games. We have to keep winning games, keep improving, keep proving everyone else wrong to show we deserve to be in those rankings.”

With league games against Cuyahoga Falls and Aurora left on the schedule, Highland can take a big step toward winning its second SL title (2020).

There’s no bigger game than the one on Saturday against Medina

The biggest game on the schedule might come Saturday when the Hornets head to Medina in a battle for county supremacy.

That’s the measuring stick. That’s the game that has the soccer world in Northeast Ohio buzzing.

“It’s kind of a who we want to be thing,” said Highland forward Grace Shondel. “We need to stay together and push through it. We all have to relax and treat it like another game. We have to play how we’ve been playing.”

How this young team has been playing – Highland has just six seniors and only two start – is amazing.

The Hornets are outscoring opponents 59-7 and have seven shutouts.

The scariest part is that those goals are coming from everywhere.

Shondel (13 goals, 10 assists) leads the way, but the sophomore has help from Madison (15, 4), who is a junior. There’s also sophomore Vanessa Zufall (12, 8) and Miller (10, 7), who is a senior.

All four scored against Revere with Mira Simic adding the final tally.

“We are very dangerous because we have four or five players that can score multiple goals on any given night,” Bill Zufall said. “Tonight, was a great example about everyone stepping up. It’s easy to mark one or two players, but when you have to defend three or four players, there’s something special about that. We’re not just knocking the ball around. When we’re in position, we’re taking on players. It’s fun.”

Contact Brad Bournival at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter at @bbournival

Source: https://www.beaconjournal.com/story/sports/high-school/soccer/2023/09/28/medina-highland-ohio-high-school-girls-soccer-coach-bill-zufall-grace-madison-grace-shondel/70924200007/

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