Jenna Parry's job isn't that glamorous, but she's never trade her place anywhere on the soccer field.
Parry, a Champion High School junior, is a sweeper.
She doesn't play one-one-one defense, per se. She's not the one dribbling toward the goal, booting a darting kick past an unsuspecting goalie.
No, she roams in front of Champion girls soccer goalie Kelly Robinson as the last line of defense before the opponent's shots on goal come Robinson's way.
Champion allowed 10 goals in 16 regular-season games, which set a new school record - something that impressed coach Dan Houle, who has been there 21 seasons.
He added Parry averaged a stellar 24 defensive intercepts per game, which means how many times she stopped an attacker from coming downfield.
"You don't want to take anything away from your goalkeeper, who did stop some of this," Houle said. "On the other hand, a lot of those shots never got to her because Jenna took care of things."
The Ohio Scholastic Soccer Coaches Association took notice of Parry's prowess as a defender, giving her a first-team, all-Ohio Division III girls soccer honor.
Parry was a team co-captain, and first team All-American Conference and district, along with being named Youngstown District Division III Player of the Year. Last season, she was named second team, all-Ohio.
"I don't have a lot of statistics to back me up," said Parry, who has a 4.0 GPA. "I'm really thankful I had the coach's input to give me first-team, all state."
Parry wasn't the only one honored by the OSSCA.
Lakeview coach Nate Mailach and senior midfielder Jake Young received top honors.
Mailach was named coach of the year in Division II. The Lakeview boys soccer team won the Division II district title for the second straight year.
Mailach also won the honor in 2004 when he was named Division III coach of the year while coaching Champion.
"Says a lot of how the kids prepare and the kind of culture we're bring there," Mailach said. "These guys expect to win when they take the field. They have a lot of confidence going on right now in this program."
Also honored were senior defender Byron Abrigg from Cardinal Mooney, who received first-team honors with Young, and Canfield senior forward Dylan Seybert, who made second team, all-Ohio.
"You've got to mention us with those powerhouse teams that have been there year in and year out," Mailach said of Cardinal Mooney and Canfield. "When you win two district titles in a row, you deserve to be mentioned with those upper echelon teams."
Speaking of powerhouses, Mailach is quick to point out Young's exploits. He quickly earned the name Nintendo.
"We nicknamed him Nintendo a couple of years ago because he looks like a video game when he's out there," Mailach said. "People look ridiculous when he's got the ball on his foot. While everyone is standing around watching him dribble, his teammates are running to the goal because they know he'll slide the ball right across or get a shot on goal and they can get an easy tap in."
Young likes the reference.
"I'm more of a creative soccer player," he said. "I like to do motion and stuff. During the LaBrae game last year, I weaved in and out of players pretty easily. I had the nickname ever since."
Young had 20 goals and 15 assists last season.
"He deserves every accolade he gets. Nobody is more dedicated or plays with more heart than he does," Mailach said.
Meanwhile, Howland junior midfield Seyla Perez made first-team all-Ohio for the second straight year. She had around 20 goals and enjoyed every minute with first-year Tigers coach Joe Megyesi.
"I love my team and we're all really close," Perez said. "Joe has come in for his first year and we all really loved him. He's a very good coach. He helped us improve.
"We weren't expected to do very well, but we proved them wrong."
As for Parry, she proved that a defender can get first-team, all-Ohio status. More importantly, she was glad to help Robinson be one of the best goalies in this area and allow their opponents during the regular season average of .625 goals per game.
"Me and Kelly were focused on breaking that record," Parry said. "That was one of the goals we worked toward all season. We were really excited that we accomplished it.
"She gets all the glory because that's her record."
As a sweeper, Parry would have it no other way.
OTHER AREA ALL-OHIO HONORS: Division II girls coach of the year, Canfield's Phil Simone; Division I boys first-team, all-Ohio, Austintown Fitch senior midfielder Ken Kilpatrick; Division III boys second-team, all-Ohio, Ursuline senior defender John Crow, Lordstown junior forward Jacob Jones and Badger senior midfielder Ben Meardith; Division II girls first-team, all-Ohio, Canfield senior midfielder Jennifer Morris and Cardinal Mooney sophomore forward Juliana Vazquez; Division II girls second-team, all-Ohio, Poland senior midfielder Carolyn Balzano and Lakeview junior midfielder Allison Pavlik; Division III girls second-team, all-Ohio, LaBrae senior defender Laura Hall and John F. Kennedy junior forward Nicole Rodomsky.
