The central Ohio landscape surrounding the Gahanna Lincoln girls soccer team has shifted with regularity in recent seasons.
The Lions put together their best season in 2016 when they lost 1-0 to Pickerington North in a Division I regional final to finish 18-1-2.
It was Olentangy Liberty that represented the area in a state semifinal in 2017, and Watterson (2018), Dublin Coffman (2019), Olentangy (2020) and New Albany (2021) all have won regional titles as well.
There have been a few memorable moments over that stretch for the Lions, including district runner-up finishes in 2017 and 2019, but they entered this fall coming off a 3-10-5 season.
Gahanna ended up taking a big step forward under first-year coach Dave Merrick and six seniors, finishing 10-7-2 overall and winning the fourth league championship in program history.
“At the beginning of the year, coming together and learning about each other, we weren’t quite sure what type of season we’d have, but we knew what they’d done in the past,” Merrick said. “We had a great set of seniors and they wanted to make a change, and they believed in what we were doing. They started to become a builder.”
One of the steps for the Lions in becoming one of the area’s bounce-back teams took place when they posted a 1-0 victory on Sept. 20 over New Albany, which went on to win a district title.
Although Gahanna closed the regular season with a 3-1 loss to North on Oct. 17, it was the No. 12 seed for the district tournament and won its first two postseason games before falling 3-0 to fourth-seeded Dublin Coffman in a district semifinal Oct. 26.
It marked the Lions’ first 10-win season since 2018, when they went 10-3-5 and also lost in a district semifinal but earned a share of the OCC-Ohio Division title.
This fall, Gahanna finished 4-1 in the league to tie New Albany and North for the championship.
“Our new coach has been great and doesn’t let us settle for anything less,” senior center back Mia Sammons said. “There’s also the bond on our team. There are a lot of other great seniors and I feel like we had a lot of great senior leaders this year who were just wanting to work hard, with no drama and strings attached. We deserve everything we’ve gotten.”
According to Sammons and junior left back Kya Jordan, communication issues played a role in the Lions’ struggles in 2021.
“We had individual talent, but we just didn’t work together,” Jordan said. “(This season was) great. Last year it was kind of rough, especially going to school and everyone’s kind of making fun of you because we only won three games. Then this year, winning 10 games makes me excited for next year because we have a lot of the same girls back.”
Center midfielder Jaeda Whittaker, defender Julia Sammons, goalie Emily Marzetz and forwards Daelyn Schepman and Sydney Errington all were key contributors as seniors.
Whittaker had six goals and two assists, Schepman had four goals and three assists and Marzetz made 122 saves while giving up 28 goals.
In addition to Jordan, the Lions had a group of junior regulars that included Aubrey Hack (forward), Emma Groves (defensive midfielder), Kylie Lewis (left back) and Lauren Thomas (defensive midfielder).
Sophomores Maegan Chrysler (forward) and Claire Highland (center back) and freshman Megan Foulke (left back) also were key contributors.
“It’s not easy in the Central District, but I think their confidence grew,” Merrick said. “We know the process is not microwavable and it takes time, but this set of seniors has set a standard we can build upon in the future.
“The seniors all contributed well for us this year. Now the challenge will be that they started a benchmark here and they’re not satisfied with that. Now every year we want to be in (district) semifinals and competing for league championships.”
julrey@thisweeknews.com
@UlreyThisWeek
GAHANNA GIRLS SOCCER
•Record: 10-7-2 overall
•OCC-Ohio standings: Gahanna, New Albany, Pickerington North (all 4-1), Westerville Central (2-3), Grove City (1-4), Westland (0-5)
•Seniors lost: Sydney Errington, Emily Marzetz, Julia Sammons, Mia Sammons, Daelyn Schepman and Jaeda Whittaker
•Key returnees: Maegan Chrysler, Megan Foulke, Emma Groves, Aubrey Hank, Claire Highland, Kya Jordan, Kylie Lewis and Lauren Thomas
•Postseason: Def. Licking Heights 4-2; def. Hilliard Davidson 1-0; lost to Dublin Coffman 3-0 in Division I district semifinal
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