Wall.girls Soccer

[Brian Scarano]

TheRamsey forward turned the tide early in the second half and her team never looked back in the final step of a dominant postseason run. The Rams claimed their first state title in a dozen years with a 3-1 victory over Wall in the Group 2 girls soccer final at Franklin High School.

The bond that will go down in Ramsey lore was one between a rising star and a senior playing in her final high school game. It paid off in the 44th minute when Reid sent a pass to Seton Hall commit Nina Davis, who was a force all game long with two goals.

"We had 22 girls on the squad and every one of them has made an impact on the season," Strohmeyer said. "We talked about that before the year that in a long season with a good team, everyone is going to have their moment."

The Rams opened the scoring in the 24th minute when Alexa Friedland served a ball into the box that Davis headed home. Wall answered back in the 31st minute when Erin Farrell chipped in a set piece from in tight.

"We honestly have a superstition going on," Reid said. "We say I come off the bench and I have a lot of heat coming off watching the game. I honestly like to stay on the bench and see how the game goes."

"It was scary," Davis said. "It was one of the scariest moments of my life. I'm honestly happy I took it and happy I stepped up. It's just another challenge in life that I'm going to have to get over and take."

After a back-and-forth, 100-minute battle between her Wall girls soccer team and Seneca, senior goalkeeper Nelly Bianchi-Nagle made three straight saves in the shootout and Seneca hit the crossbar on its final attempt to send Wall into the Group 2 Final for the second straight year.

Seneca put Wall in a hole four minutes into the game, when Hannah Eichman scored off a cross from Gabby Miller. Wall would settle down and both teams would create scoring opportunities, but the defenses had the upper hand for the rest of the half.

Seneca tied the game in the 70th minute when Miller, who is committed to play at Rutgers next season, beat a Wall defender down the side and got into the box to score. Miller would give Seneca a 3-2 lead in the 75th minute on a blast from 30 yards away.

In the closing minutes, Wall moved the whole team up to apply pressure for the equalizer. With 2:44 left, Erin Farrell scored the equalizer off a cross from Ellie Hartz that Seneca goalkeeper Genevieve Jenkins came out to make a play but could not hold onto.

Seneca had a chance to end the game in the 88th minute, but Miller shot the ball wide. Wall followed that with an open look in the middle of the box, but it was shot right at Jenkins who made the save. In the second overtime, Wall had the best chance in the 94th minute, but hit the post.

Seneca went first in the shootout and led off with Miller, who buried her attempt. Wall responded with a goal by Hartz. Seneca sent Bucknell commit Ava Palladino up second and Bianchi-Nagle dove to her left to make the save.

Seneca sent Rihanna Vincent to shoot in the third round and once again Bianchi-Nagle made a diving save to her left. Bianchi-Nagle made another diving save, but this time dove to her right on a shot by Vanessa Auty in the fourth round.

"We are very excited to welcome Rich, his wife Jessica, and their son, Tre, to the Mercyhurst soccer family," said Assistant Vice President for Athletics Brad Davis. "I was very impressed with Rich's passion, determination, and knowledge for women's soccer since our first conversation. His work ethic and energy will pay immediate dividends for our current student-athletes and in our recruiting efforts."

Wall brings a wealth of experience and success to Erie, having previously coached at the Division I and Division II levels as well as the semi-pro level. Most recently, Wall was the associate head coach at Coastal Carolina.

Prior to Coastal Carolina, Wall spent two seasons at Cincinnati, coaching a two-time AAC Defensive Player of the Year and seven all-conference performers, while leading the Bearcats to the 2020 American Athletic Conference Championship game.

He was a former collegiate head coach at Lees-McRae College in North Carolina and an assistant coach at Ball State before joining the Bearcats staff in 2019. Wall compiled a record of 35-33-5 with the Bobcats and led them to a pair of 11-win seasons while climbing as high as No. 12 in the national rankings. During his four seasons at the helm, he coached two Conference Carolinas Player of the Year Award winners, the 2017 Conference Carolinas Freshmen of the Year, and the 2015 Conference Carolinas Defensive Player of the Year.

Wall also spent time as a coach in the USL League Two as an assistant with the Tri-Cities Otters and was the head coach of West Virginia United. He helped West Virginia reach the second round of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup during one of his two seasons with the team. Wall has also been a youth soccer head coach with the Ohio Elite ECNL Girls and the North Carolina Olympic Development Program.

Wall played collegiately at Gardner-Webb University and Wingate University in North Carolina and saw action in 70 matches. He graduated from Gardner-Webb with a bachelor's degree in sport management. Additionally, Wall has earned the United States Soccer Federation A-Senior License and the United Soccer Coaches Premier Diploma. In 2018, he was named to the United Soccer Coaches 30-Under-30 Program.

2019 (Junior)

Started all 16 contests for the Lions at midfield ... Finished the season with two goals, which were back-to-back game-winners against Bucknell and Penn ... Scored the golden goal in the 100th minute at Bucknell ... Also net the second-half winner over Penn.

2018 (Sophomore)

Earned All-Ivy League honorable mention recognition after moving to the back line midseason to help solidify Columbia's defense ... Played in all 16 games with 15 starts ... Recorded two goals and two assists ... Scored her first career goal in the Lions' 2-1 victory at Colorado College on Aug. 31 ... Also picked up one goal and one assist in a 3-0 victory over Sacred Heart on Sept. 7.

2017 (First-Year)

Played in all 16 games, earning seven starts, for the Lions in her rookie season.

HIGH SCHOOL

Wall comes from the heralded Crossfire Premier ECNL in the state of Washington. Her stong ability to anchor and steer the midfield is greatly attributed to her decision to play club competition over high school soccer. By her junior year, Wall was competing with a year-older boys team in the fall. She is well-experienced in contributing to success with her two-time national-qualifying Crossfire Premier ECNL club, while earning 2016 Team MVP honors. Wall was sensational in the classroom as well, earning AP Scholar with Distinction and a National Merit Commendation. She qualified for the DECA International Career Develement Conference in 2015 and was a Washington State representative in 2016.

After the United States women's national team settled for bronze at the Tokyo Olympics, head coach Vlatko Andonovski promised that the future of his squad was still brighter than ever before. He cited youth matches he had witnessed as evidence the USWNT would come roaring back and said "the girls at that level are more complete players than they have been in the past."

Sure enough, the USWNT is now favored to win a third consecutive Women's World Cup this summer, well-equipped with a promising young core Andonovski continues to rave about. Trailblazing teenager Alyssa Thompson is already on the senior roster, while fellow youngsters such as Olivia Moultrie and Jaedyn Shaw are expected to add to the cause in future tournaments.

But the U.S. girls youth soccer system still faces criticism on several fronts. Families of children unable to earn treasured college soccer scholarships or preferred college admission, let alone international consideration, are frustrated by a lack of quality team options beyond expensive, hard-to-join travel clubs. Standout players, meanwhile, say they get frustrated when teammates don't share their level of commitment to soccer. There is fear that an ACL injury crisis is linked with coaches who want kids to win at all costs and force overexertion in adolescence.

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