Rangers move into tie atop SWC

The stakes couldn’t have been higher for two highpowered conference foes.

The North Ridgeville Rangers and Berea-Midpark Titans, the top two teams in the Southwestern Conference, clashed at Lou Groza field in Berea on Sept. 11.

Mady Rosado scored two goals for the Rangers (7-1-0) (4-1-0 SWC) to propel North Ridgeville past Berea-Midpark (7–1-0) (41-0 SWC), 3-1.

It was a physical match, as first place in the conference was on the line.

Berea-Midpark controlled possession for most of the first half and had multiple potential scoring opportunities. They weren’t able to convert, however, as the Rangers’ defense stood tall despite pressure from the Titans’ offense.

“They came out and put a ton of pressure on us,” North Ridgeville head coach Chris Moore said. “We just had to weather that storm and once we did, you could see a momentum shift ... we bent but we didn’t break.”

North Ridgeville had a tough time getting scoring chances against a strong Titan defense. However, they broke through in the 32nd minute.

The Rangers’ Mady Rosado was streaking down the field when Titans goalkeeper Bridget Satow came out of the goal to attempt to stop the shot. Rosado got past Satow and put the ball in the back of the net to give North Ridgeville a 1-0 lead just before the half.

“Her work rate, her fight, her reading of the plays ... she’s a hard worker and it’s awesome to have players like that,” Moore said.

Berea-Midpark answered in the opening minutes of the second half.

The Titans’ Leia Rienerth put a strike past Rangers goal keeper Sarah Miller in the 43rd minute to even the score at 1-1.

After a physical, back and forth start to the second half, North Ridgeville pulled away.

The Rangers took a 2-1 lead in the 62nd minute when Rosado scored her second goal of the day. She beat two defenders and NORTH RIDGEVILLE 3, BEREA-MIDPARK 1

placed the ball in the back right corner of the net.

“I just went for it,” Rosado said. “I ran as fast as I could, tried to get around the girl, and I gave it my all.”

North Ridgeville wasn’t done.

A foul on Berea-Midpark led to a penalty kick in the 67 minute for the Rangers. Bella Antonio put it past the keeper to put the game away and ensure the win for North Ridgeville.

“I saw a lot of uncharacteristic things and that’s alright,” Berea-Midpark head coach Abbey Golden said. “I tell my girls in order for us to become a better team, we need to be challenged. Tonight we learned a lot of things to make us a better team tomorrow.”

This win meant a lot for Rosado as she has connections to Berea-Midpark.

“It was amazing, especially because the (BereaMidpark) coach is my club coach. So it mean’t a lot to give it to them,” Rosado said.

Moore liked what he saw out of his team in the victory.

“I saw a team that is starting to growing into themselves,” Moore said. “I also saw a team that believes, a team that is learning how to win, play with grit and determination and they are learning how to play for each other. Which is big, we’ve been working on that.”

The Rangers and Titans are now tied for first place in the Southwestern Conference.

“We needed another game along the way that gave us a test,” Moore said. “Not that the other games we’ve played weren’t a test. We knew that they were a very good team and we used this game to let them know that we can play, it was one of those games. In the end, it is just another game because we still have Magnificat, Amherst ... we have some tough games. It was ultimately another game, however, it provides a but of self-belief and selfconfidence.”

Up next, both teams hit the road as North Ridgeville takes on Magnificat, while Berea-Midpark takes on Highland on Sept. 14.