“You don’t necessarily take it all in as it’s happening,” said Heard, who was one of nine seniors on the championship team. “I was 17 at the time and I’m thinking, ‘OK, what’s next?’ I’m having a different perspective now that I’m 27.
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“It’s weird to take in that we accomplished something so great, but it’s definitely something that I’ll always have and cherish. I pull out my state ring every now and again and wish I could wear it every day … but that would be a little odd.”
Shannon Donoher, Lauren Fedders and Abbey Adams were the captains for Fenwick, which finished 19-4 under head coach Tom McEwan.
McEwan is now the head coach at Lakota East and said any talk about the 2008 squad should be done by the players themselves.
“This is and should be a celebration of the young ladies that comprise that team,” McEwan said.
Credit: DaytonDailyNews
Donoher was a senior defender and the Girls Greater Cincinnati League Grey North Division Player of the Year in 2008. She now lives in Los Angeles and works as a flight attendant for American Airlines.
“First of all, it’s just shocking that it’s 10 years. It feels like yesterday,” Donoher said. “It’s kind of crazy that we’re all still so close. I’m still best friends with our senior class … about five of us still talk all the time.
“It’s not like we had one star player. Everyone contributed. It’s hard to get a group of 20 girls together and not have fights or drama, but we were able to do that. I think at the end of the day we were a true team, and I think that’s why we won.”
Dr. Mary Hudepohl is a Cincinnati dentist who lives in West Chester Township. In 2008, she was junior goalkeeper Mary Turvy, who earned the state championship shutout with four saves.
“It’s a pretty sweet memory to be able to look back and say we actually did it. There’s not too many people who get to make that claim,” Hudepohl said. “There was so much excitement that whole season. We had a really strong group of girls that worked hard trying to make it happen. From the very first game, the very first practice, that was our end goal.”
Fenwick won the Division III state title under McEwan in 2012, but the Falcons had never made it past the district finals before getting to Columbus in 2008.
Hoban (21-2-1) was ranked second and Fenwick third heading into the ’08 state final on Nov. 8, 2008. The Knights doubled the Falcons in shots on goal (14-7), but Heard took an assist from freshman Selby Smith and booted the ball past Hoban goalie Francesca Gironda with 8:38 left.
“Selby hit that ball perfectly to me,” Heard said. “She got that ball in the center and she looked up and I was going and she sent it. I was like, ‘I have to get there. This is our break.’ The goalie was toward the near post, and I saw that far post and hit it and it went in. It seemed like 10 minutes. It was actually probably about 30 seconds.”
It was far from over, though. Fenwick was called for a handball in the box with 1:29 left, giving Hoban a penalty kick. It was the Knights’ scoring star, junior Juliana Libertin, against a nervous FHS goalie.
“It was a pretty intense moment,” Hudepohl recalled. “We were standing there on the line, I can still remember that. She kicked to my left and I dove left, but she ended up kicking it wide, which was kind of unbelievable. I can remember diving and seeing the ball at the end of my fingertips. It went right next to the goal post.”
Did she touch the ball at all?
“I claim I got a small fingertip there, but I don’t know if that actually happened,” Hudepohl said. “Or at least I think I would’ve been there if it didn’t go wide.
“I definitely remember my heart racing before she took the shot, and my heart was still racing after she missed. But even after that, the last few seconds of the game were still pretty intense. I think they got another shot on goal in that last minute. It was definitely down to the last seconds before we sealed the deal.”
Said Heard, “The PK, that felt forever. My gut was in my throat. I was just waiting, anticipating, couldn’t breathe. But we all just had to let it go. I had all the confidence in the world in Mary. She could save any ball. Head to head, I’d take Mary anytime.”
Hudepohl had one more season with the Falcons, but didn’t play during her four years at Miami University. She graduated from MU with a degree in biology and went to dental school at Louisville.
Libertin, who tallied 34 goals and 20 assists as a junior at Hoban, went on to become Donoher’s collegiate teammate at Dayton. Donoher played three seasons at UD and earned a degree in sport management/marketing.
Heard scored 24 of Fenwick’s 50 goals in 2008. She played one year at Eastern Michigan before transferring to Cincinnati. She didn’t play at UC, focusing instead on a political science degree.
Now a national sales executive with Paycor in Norwood, Heard lives in Middletown, but is looking for a home in Cincinnati.
“Once we beat Madeira in the Final Four, I think we all knew that we were going to win it all, no matter how good Hoban was,” Donoher said. “Playing in college, I’m playing with girls who have played pro soccer and All-Americans and all this stuff, and I think I was one of three girls on my college team that won state. So it was a special title, and I was able to do it with my best friends.
“Even now, it’s cool to drive around Ohio, to Cleveland, to Columbus, all the areas, and say you were state champ of the whole state.”
The players have been planning an informal team reunion in November. Since that idea started circulating, the school announced an official reunion at the Oct. 5 homecoming football game against Chaminade Julienne. All players are invited to attend the alumni tailgate and will be introduced prior to kickoff on the field at 6:40 p.m.
Anyone needing more information should contact the Fenwick development team at 513-727-1500.
2008 Division II State Champions
Here are the roster and results for Fenwick High School’s 2008 Division II state championship girls soccer team:
Head Coach: Tom McEwan
Assistant Coaches: Mark Boytim, Javier Iriart, Liz Rose
Seniors: Abbey Adams, Jordan Batman, Shannon Donoher, Lauren Fedders, Tonjia Griffor, Alexis Heard, Emily Hoehn, Amanda Wolski, Jill Zahora
Juniors: Katlyn Bashford, Lauren Hinton, Rachel Hoffman, Sydney Johnson, Sydney Rieman, Courtney Ross, Michelle Schroeck, Mary Turvy
Sophomores: Jacklin Mercer, Katie Rhodes, Emily Ross
Freshmen: MacKenzie Hamilton, Kelci McHugh, Sydney Neal, Selby Smith
Regular Season: Defeated Middletown 4-1; lost to Indian Hill 1-0; defeated Jamestown Greeneview 2-1; defeated Mother of Mercy 2-0; defeated Anderson 2-1; lost to St. Ursula 4-1; defeated Carroll 1-0; defeated Columbus Bexley 2-0; lost to McNicholas 2-0; defeated Alter 3-2; lost to Ursuline 3-1; defeated Chaminade Julienne 2-1; defeated Greensburg (Pa.) Central Catholic 4-0; defeated Roger Bacon 1-0; defeated Purcell Marian 8-0; defeated Badin 1-0
Sectionals: Defeated Franklin 3-1; defeated Alter 2-0
Districts: Defeated McNicholas 3-0
Regionals: Defeated Columbus Bexley 2-0; defeated Circleville 2-0
State Semifinal: Defeated Madeira 3-1
State Championship: Defeated Akron Hoban 1-0
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