Wyoming boys soccer knocks off defending state champion Summit Country Day in playoffs

INDIAN HILL - A penalty kick a little over seven minutes into the second half was the only goal scored Tuesday night as Wyoming held off defending Ohio Division II state champion Summit Country Day 1-0 in a district semifinal soccer match.

Sam Renggli delivered the lone goal and Wyoming's defense led by a showcase effort by Austin Snowden at keeper, registered their 14th shutout in 18 games. 

"Anytime you have the opportunity to play a team like Summit, all you can do is seize it," Wyoming coach Adam Jones said. "We knew coming into the season if we had the opportunity to play Summit it meant that we were having a pretty good year. We believe in our players and believe in what we're doing at Wyoming."

Despite winning four straight Ohio state soccer titles, Summit Country Day's boys came into Tuesday night's Division II district semifinal as a No. 3 seed based on an 8-6-2 regular-season record. However, they had taken the same path last year as a No. 3 seed and knocked off No. 1 seed Wyoming, handing them their only loss of the season.

In his first season at Wyoming, Adam Jones led the Cowboys to a regular-season mark of 15-0-1 to again achieve a top seed.

After a physical 0-0 first half featuring Wyoming's Snowden making several key saves, Wyoming got on the scoreboard with 32:53 remaining in the contest via a penalty kick. Senior Renggli stood back as the crowd quieted considerably.  Shortly after, his cleat hit the ball and the Cowboys had their goal.

"It's a big moment but that's what this team is made for," Renggli said. "We live for those moments. I put it away for my teammates, for everybody."

The rest of the half was spent trying to fend off Summit captain Doug Simpson and the Silver Knights who repeatedly threatened to score, only to fall short or see Snowden make another spectacular save.

"Austin Snowden is the real deal," Jones said. "He knows coming into a game like this he definitely needs to make a couple big saves to keep us in the game. He made more than couple, he made a handful. He's definitely the man of the match."

Snowden made one save in the first half that had several jaws dropping, jumping for a hard, sizzling liner and punching it up and over the goal.

"I saw the ball and made the play," Snowden said. "It was a good save, great save. Really, the defense played amazing tonight. They kept clearing the ball for me and made my job pretty easy."

Before the game officially ended, one last infraction was called on Wyoming giving Summit one last kick from just inside midfield. Two seconds were placed back on the clock, but the ball eventually bounced out of bounds away from the goal sending a herd of Cowboys onto the field in jubilation.

"Let's just say it like is man, Summit Country Day has been the king of soccer in Cincinnati no matter what division it is," Jones said. "To beat them in a tournament after they've won 30-something straight in a row. That's an unbelievable achievement."

Wyoming now moves on to play Bellbrook in a district semifinal Saturday night at Mason at 7 p.m. Bellbrook is 11-5-1 on the season. 

Summit Country Day finishes 10-7-2 and sees their run of 31 consecutive postseason wins come to a  halt. Many of their players removed their jerseys and had to be comforted after the difficult loss.

"We felt like we were in a position where we could make a run again," Summit coach Scott Sievering said of the season. "The one thing I'm proud of is we always talk about if we are going to lose, we'll lose taking a team's best punch. I think Wyoming played a great game and gave us everything we can handle. We haven't felt this since 2014, but our seniors have a lot to be proud of and our underclassmen will be hungry."