MANSFIELD — It’s a set piece Sammy Paul and Stevie Brown have worked on for as long as either of them could remember. Brown will send the ball into the box. Paul will approach from his outside midfield spot and, well, hope for the best.
“As soon as he’s hitting it, I know exactly where I’m going to go,” Paul said. “Whether or not the ball is going to be there is a different thing.”
The ball was there waiting for Paul on a blustery Saturday evening at Columbus Crew Stadium and the Richland Bank Athlete of the Week etched his name in Mansfield Christian history.
Paul’s golden goal — a nifty diving header off Brown’s free kick — lifted the Flames to a 4-3 overtime win over Grandview Heights in the Division III state championship match, delivering MCS its first ever state title.
“Me and Stevie have always done this thing since we were younger where he will hit a ball over the top and I will just try to run around my man,” Paul said. “It’s that kind of connection we’ve had ever since we were young.
“He hit the perfect ball in. That’s all on him. He’s a great player.”
For Paul, handing out compliments comes as naturally as passing out assists. The scrappy junior ranked among team leaders with 14 assists, but had only five goals in the 22 games leading up to Saturday’s final.
He found the back of the net twice Saturday.
“Sammy’s going to be getting all the girls now,” high-scoring senior forward Brendan Ernsberger joked in the moments following the trophy presentation. “We’re all happy for Sam scoring that, but it’s the team that got us there.
“I’ve always said I feel confident if any of us get in front of the goal we’re going to score.”
The moments immediately following Paul’s game-winner were a little bit hazy for all parties involved. Paul righted himself and raced down the far sideline, his teammates hot on his tail. They caught up to him near the midfield stripe and piled on.
“I sprinted onto the field and tried to catch Sam,” first-year MCS coach Stephen Armstrong said. “He got tackled and there were 15 guys on him. He couldn’t breath.”
The celebration almost never happened. Mansfield Christian maintained its 3-0 halftime lead deep into the second half before top-ranked Grandview Heights scored three goals in the span of five minutes.
“You know, they’re not the number one-ranked team in the state just for fun,” Paul said. “They deserve that spot. They’re a very talented team. They played their hearts out and I have nothing but respect for them.”
“They’re a team that can score on you in a hurry.”
The Bobcats had a golden opportunity to take the lead in the closing seconds, but misfired on their final shot of regulation. Grandview Heights never got off a shot in overtime before Paul punched in the game-winner.
“I just had the honor of putting the cherry on top,” Paul said.
Saturday’s postgame scene was in stark contrast to the one that unfolded at Crew Stadium a year earlier. Mansfield Christian fell to Summit Country Day 2-1 in the 2013 state championship game.
“You know, I have to say the gold feels a little better than the silver,” Paul said. “I like it.”
The framework for Saturday was laid in the heat of the summer. Armstrong inherited Richland County’s oldest and most tradition-rich program from Jesse Rider, who succeeded Ben Stauffer. All three are MCS graduates.
“It was a process from Day 1, two straight weeks of five-hour two-a-days,” Armstrong said. “We talked before the game (about) the first time they kicked a soccer ball in their life, the first time they played at Mansfield Christian. All of that led to this very moment.”
Paul and the Flames seized that moment, bringing a state soccer championship to Richland County for the first time ever.
“We’ve been playing soccer for a long time and this is a feeling like no other,” said Mansfield Christian superintendent Cy Smith. “We’re so excited for the school, the city and the community.”
