COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Ohio High School Athletic Association announced Tuesday the state boys and girls soccer finals will remain at MAPFRE Stadium in Columbus while the state girls volleyball tournament will move to Vandalia Butler High School.
The state girls soccer finals (three divisions) are scheduled for Nov. 13 while the state boys soccer finals (three divisions) are scheduled for Nov. 14.
MAPFRE Stadium, home to the Columbus Crew SC, has been home to the OHSAA state soccer finals since 1999.
“We would like to thank the Crew SC for being such a great partner during these uncertain times,” said Kathleen Coughlin, OHSAA Director of Sport Management and soccer administrator. “Due to the attendance restrictions this year, we didn’t know if it would be possible to have our finals in such an outstanding venue, but the Crew SC made it happen and we couldn’t be happier to once again crown our soccer state champions at MAPFRE Stadium.”
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The state girls volleyball tournament (semifinals and finals) will move to a Friday-Saturday-Sunday format (November 13-15). School will not be in session at Butler High School that Friday.
"We are very thankful that Butler High School stepped forward to host our volleyball state tournament,” said Emily Gates, OHSAA Director of Sport Management and the volleyball administrator.
“We look forward to our return to Wright State University in the future, but with the small number of fans who can attend this year, we needed to find a smaller venue that was still an exceptional site. We found that at Butler High School and are very excited to work together on this great state tournament.”
The facility will be cleared and cleaned after each match, so the state tournament schedule will be adjusted to the following:
Friday, November 13: Division II semifinals at 10 am and 1 pm; Division I semifinals at 4 pm and 7 pm.
Saturday, November 14: Division IV semifinals at 10 am and 1 pm; Division III semifinals at 4 pm and 7 pm
Sunday, November 15: Division II final at 9 am; Division I final at 12:30 pm; Division IV final at 4 pm; Division III final at 7:30 pm.
The state girls volleyball tournament (four divisions) had been held at Wright State University's Nutter Center for 29 consecutive years.
The most recent time the state tournament wasn't held at the Nutter Center was in 1990 when it was held at University of Dayton Arena.
In cross country, the OHSAA will now conduct all regional and state cross country races on Saturdays (Oct. 31 and Nov. 7, respectively). The schedule for the regional and state tournaments is as follows:
Division III boys: 9 am; Division III girls: 10 am; Division II boys: Noon; Division II girls: 1 pm; Division I boys: 3 pm; Division I girls: 4 pm.
The OHSAA also said Tuesday it will announce later this week how the football regions will be paired for the Division I state semifinal games.
Next week, the OHSAA will announce how the regions will be paired for the state semifinals in Divisions II through VII.
The OHSAA will select neutral sites for the state semifinal games and the state championship games. Sites will be announced as soon as possible.
The OHSAA said many traditional host sites are not available to serve as neutral sites due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
