Putting together the full body of work is the ultimate goal and that’s a big part of why this Hiland senior was selected The Daily Record Boys Soccer Player of the Year.
Improving each year from his freshman campaign in 2021, Zeke Bodiker embodied consistent and improved play and finally capped his final season with 23 goals, 13 assists and totaled 59 points. For his career, it gave him 61 goals, 44 assists and 166 points.
His 61 goals tie him for eighth all-time, his 44 assists tie him for second all-time and his 166 points puts him firmly tied for fifth all-time career wise. It also earned him All Ohio and first team All District honors.
This past season, he and Logan Hershberger formed arguably one of the TCL’s best 1-2 punches and that also helped turn into big results on the pitch. The Hawks made their third regional appearance in the past four years and in those past four years, Hiland has been an impressive 12-4 in the OHSAA playoffs. Within the TCL, Bodiker played a big role in his team going 2-2 with wins over Norwayne and Central Christian and impressive results over the best the area had to offer with a dominating win over Orrville and a win over Smithville.
“Zeke has improved each year because he has always been the hardest worker on a team that had a lot of other hard workers,” said Hiland coach Scott Bodiker. “He has had to deal with more criticism than probably any player ever at Hiland, and I feel really good that he has used that to improve his weaknesses.
“Despite always being a strong player, he is extremely humble, a good teammate who has put the team’s success as his No. 1 priority and that has driven him to get better; to help the team has always been his motivation,” added Scott. “On the field, he has a good motor that allows him to cover a lot of space and good vision to know where to be and when he needs to be there. He really developed into a good player in the air and that allowed him to score a lot of headed goals.”
With all of that, it’s the legacy that Bodiker leaves behind with a group of friends and teammates who have maintained the high standard of excellence that is Hiland boys soccer.
“He had a special group of senior teammates that were not only his teammates, but his best friends off the field and our program will miss them terribly,” said Scott. “But we will hopefully try to be motivated by their commitment level to try to keep the program at a high level.”
Nicholas Morse, Wooster: Simply one of the best with the ball at his feet, Morse was a force to be reckoned with in the offensive third. Continuing the run of excellent play in the forward third for Wooster, this senior could simply take over games with his ability to navigate traffic and penchant for finding the nylon in the back of the frame.
Jon Graham, Norwayne: There are lot of adjectives to describe this quiet standout, who simply controlled the center of the pitch. Talented, skilled, flashy, silky smooth and team-first would be some of those as this senior was a key part of the Bobcats run over the past couple years. This fall, he was the rock that kept the ship moving from the midfield.
Luke DeRodes, Smithville: Talented junior goalkeeper, who shined the brightest when it mattered most turning big result after big result. Much like a closer in baseball, a goalkeeper can be judged their latest failures, which DeRodes had few of those as he played more like Dennis Eckersley when it mattered most.
In fixtures against TCL powers Central Christian, Hiland and Norwayne, DeRodes finished with a 1-3 record but was impressive allowing just seven goals against one scored. He finished with 12 shutouts, had 13 goals allowed and posted 0.68 goals allowed average and an 82.2 save percentage.
Alex Steiner, Central Christian: Getting back to state for the first time since 2017, it’s been seasons of progression for the Comets as they have improved each year in the playoffs. From districts in 2022, to regionals in 2023 to back to state this fall, Steiner guided a young team to consistent improvement each year.
This past season, coaching in easily the hardest soccer conference in the area in the Tri-County League, Steiner guided his team against the likes of Hiland, Norwayne, Cardinal Mooney and Western Reserve Academy. Though they went 0-3-1 in those battles, it was the lessons learned that proved pivotal down the stretch.
Flipping those losses into key pointers and strengthening areas of their game that needed done, Steiner did a late revamp of the offense that worked wonders. They went on to put together a 5-1 stretch that saw them outscore opponents 23-2 leading into their sixth contest, a Final Four battle with Minford. Entering the playoffs, the Comets had only outscored opponents 32-19, before Steiner and company made changes and then reaped the benefits down the stretch.
Chase Coblentz, Hiland (JU): Technically sound goalkeeper, consistently made the right decisions, and showed great command of the box
Stats: 14 shutouts, 25 goals allowed, 1.19 goals allowed average, 76.2 save %, 2nd team All District
Silas Coleman, Central Christian (SR): Strong play on the ball, great vision of the pitch and a student of the game
Stats: 13 goals, 6 assists and totaled 32 points, All Ohio and 1st Team All District
Mateo Dague, Northwestern (SR): Fast, quick, good power on his kicks and an ability to find the back of the net
Stats: 38 goals, 11 assists and totaled 87 points, 1st team All District
Ryan Hamsher, Hiland (SR): Cerebral player, great natural instincts and the heartbeat of the Hawks’ backline
Stats: 3 goals and totaled 6 points, 2nd team All District
Logan Hershberger, Hiland (SR): Fantastic in forward third, could score in a flash and was lethal with the ball at his feet
Stats: 30 goals, 14 assists and totaled 74 points, All Ohio and 1st team All District
Carson Hostetler, Central Christian (SR): One of the area’s best defenders, great vision and leader of the defense
Stats: Key part of defense that had 10 shutouts, allowed 25 goals and 1.14 goals allowed per game, 1st team All District
Quinn Maibach, Smithville (SR): Powerful on-ball player, led the defense, but also impacted the game in the midfield
Stats: 8 goals, 6 assists and totaled 22 points, 1st team All District
Parker Metsker, Norwayne (SR): Great distributor, heart and soul player and simply a rock for the Bobcats the past four years
Stats: 6 goals, 11 assists and totaled 23 points, 2nd team All District
A.J. Munholand, Central Christian (SR): Great foot skills, an uncanny ability to score and a spark plug offensively
Stats: 14 goals, 2 assists and totaled 30 points, 2nd All District
Calen Relle, Wooster (JR): One of the area’s best in the midfield, dictated the pace of play and great distributor
Stats: 6 goals, 19 assists and totaled 31 points, 1st team All District
Cooper Ringle, Norwayne (SR): Could get up and down the pitch fast, great in space, hard-nosed player
Stats: 17 goals, 6 assists and totaled 40 points, 1st team All District
Drew Badertscher, Central Christian – defender
McLain Bochart, Orrville – Forward
Michael Buchholz, Wooster – Midfielder
Dominic Ebin, Wooster – Defender
Lyle Endsley, Central Christian – Midfielder
Wahied Fasihi, Northwestern – Midfielder
Gabriel Gonzalez, Orrville – Goalkeeper
Kye Kooker, Central Christian – Defender
Bryan Martin, Central Christian – Goalkeeper
Christian Mullet, Hiland – Wing
Connor Preattle, Norwayne – Forward
Jake Rickett, Wooster – Forward
Ohlen Troyer, Hiland – Midfielder
Diego Vasquez, Smithville – Forward
Kaleb Wayt, Orrville – Midfielder
Edwin Augilera-Martinez (Orrville), Luke Blaz (Chippewa), Kerem Cakmak (Rittman), Tyler Hill (Wooster), Landon Hochstetler (Triway), Luke Larrison (Norwayne), Aaron Miedel (Central Christian), Grayden Miller (Central Christian), Jackson Mullet (Hiland), Garrett Obrst (West Holmes), Anderson Quinteros (Triway), Andrew Shahan (Tuslaw), Gideon Steiner (Norwayne) and Braden West (Norwayne)
