United High School junior Maddox Andrea and West Branch senior Sophia Gregory highlighted area athletes on the 2023 Ohio Scholastic Soccer Coaches Association All-Ohio teams.
Andrea was named a first-team selection on the Div. III boys list, while Gregory was named a girls first-team pick in Div. II.
Andrea, United’s career scoring leader, led the Golden Eagle offensive juggernaut with 46 goals and 11 assists and his team to a 16-2-1 record, including a district final berth against eventual Div. III state champion Andrews Osborne Academy. Andrea scored in 16 of 19 of the Golden Eagles’ games with 12 multi-goal games and 10 hat tricks. He averaged 2.42 goals per game.
“Coming into this season, I was confident that Maddox would continue his offensive output he displayed as an underclassmen,” United coach Curtis Jones said. “Opponents are now aware of him and his potential to hurt them and attempt to neutralize him via man-marking, but despite that only three opponents were able to hold him goalless. Even in those few goalless games, he finds ways to positively impact the game. Maddox shows poise under pressure, possesses excellent game vision, and is the ideal striker with great ball control, exceptional foot skills and a clinical finish.”
In addition to his state accolades, Maddox was named Mr. Youngstown for the best overall boys soccer player in the Youngstown district. He is ranked among the top 20 goal scorers in the nation ranked by MaxPreps and was a top 5 goal scorer across all divisions as recorded by the Ohio Scholastic Soccer Coaches Association. He was also highly ranked by many national soccer publications.
His career stats sit at a 118 goals and 35 assists. He was a second-team All-Ohio choice as a freshman and sophomore and will have an opportunity to be considered for the United Soccer Coaches All-Great Lakes Regional Team.
Andrea plays his club ball with the Pittsburgh Riverhounds Academy and Elite Clubs National League teams. He maintains a GPA of 3.95 and also serves as a United High School junior class officer, Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation ambassador, community soccer referee and youth camp volunteer. He is aiming to play soccer at the collegiate level while studying finance and economics.
“Maddox displays natural leadership skills and serves as a role model to his teammates through his hard work and genuine passion and love for the Beautiful Game,” Jones said.
Gregory, a Youngstown State University basketball recruit, was masterful for the Eastern Buckeye Conference champions as she had 23 goals and 13 assists in helping the Warriors to a 12-4-2 record.
“She had a breakout year scoring and Sophia was extremely dangerous in the air,” West Branch coach Cheryl Ficco said. “Sophia’s work in the midfield was also instrumental in the team’s success.”
Four other area players earned second-team All-Ohio nods including West Branch senior girls player Chloe Dennison in Div. II, Crestview girls senior standout Karagin Miller in Div. III, United girls senior Addyson Blazer in Div. III and United boys senior Matthew Logan in Div. III.
Dennison had 23 goals and 20 assists in her senior season. The four-year letterwinner and team captain owns the school records for assists and points in a season and career.
“A skilled player on the ball, Chloe was dangerous in and around the goal area, creating and finishing opportunities,” Ficco said.
Miller, a Rebel midfielder, scored 26 goals and had 14 assists in her senior season and ended her career as one of the best to do it at Crestview with 85 goals and 45 assists.
“Regardless of the result of any match, she is arguably one of the more memorable players on the pitch, as she always leaves an impact through her ability to provide a crunching defensive tackle, key pass through a defense, dribbling exhibition in the midfield or an outlandish 40 yard free kick goal,” Crestview coach Barry Kimpel said. “She is one of the best players in the state and fully warrants being All-Ohio for her second year in-a- row.”
Blazer, who plays multiple positions, had 13 goals and nine assists for the Golden Eagles this season. For her career, she had 45 goals and 35 assists.
“Addy has been a consistently hard-working, focused and persistent player,” United girls coach Sarah Hodgson said. “She is a young woman who leads by example. She has been a great role model to our younger players as well as a solid example to her teammates of grit, excellence and humility. It has been an honor coaching Addy and I am proud of her effort to succeed, willingness to learn and humble spirit of leadership she has given throughout her time on the United team.”
Logan, a midfielder, played a pivotal role for the Eagles for the past four seasons. During his time on the team, the Eagles were 60-10-6 which included a district championship in 2022 and district runner-up finishes in 2021 and 2023. For his career he had 33 goals and 39 assists.
“Coming into this season I knew that Matthew would play a vital role in our midfield and our potential success,” Jones said. “He has exceptional ball control and foot skills with both feet. His tactical awareness and excellent game vision allowed him to organize our attack as we built through the middle third. His stats have not been as flashy as some of his teammates because he has spent four years being the engine of our midfield and supporting both our defense and attack. If soccer tracked ‘hockey’ assists, then Matthew would have a lot more stats since he often helped create the opportunity for the actual assist to be played resulting in our goals. Unfortunately in soccer, players do not get credit for that work.”
Logan holds a 3.79 grade-point average and plans to play soccer in college.
