Coach Chris Kouns didn’t have far to look when he was trying to put together the roster for the Capital University women’s soccer team. Nine of the Crusaders’ 35 players came from the team’s backyard in Columbus. That local contingent has helped the Crusaders make their first run to a NCAA Division III national semifinal. Capital, 19-4-2 overall, faces William Smith College, (21-1) 12 noon Dec. 6 in San Antonio. The winner of that game meets either Trinity University (24-0-2) or Middlebury College (17-1-3) in the national championship game 2:30 p.m. Dec. 7 in San Antonio. “We’ve been fortunate. There have been some great soccer players who have come through central Ohio who wanted to combine education with a great soccer experience (at Capital),” Kouns says. “What’s kind of cool is our (nine out-of-state) kids learn from the central Ohio kids and the central Ohio kids are learning from them as well.” Two of the other NCAA soccer tournaments are getting a little taste of central Ohio as well. Also in San Antonio, sophomore midfielder Noah Grumman (Upper Arlington) and Williams College (15-6) will meet Messiah College in a semifinal 8:30 p.m. on Dec. 6 in the Division III men’s tournament. The winner plays either Loras College or Rutgers-Camden College in the championship 6:30 p.m. Dec. 7. Georgetown, which had sophomore midfielder David Witkoff (Gahanna) and freshman goalkeeper Anderson De Andrade (Olentangy Liberty) on its roster, and Maryland, which features freshman defender Alex Crognale (Gahanna), both advanced to the third round of the Division I men’s soccer tournament. The fifth-seeded Terps (15-3-5) defeated 12th seeded UC Irvine 1-0 on Dec. 1 in the third round and will play the University of California (14-4-2) in a quarterfinal 4:30 p.m. Dec. 7 in Berkley, Calif. The sixth-seeded Hoyas (14-5-2) lost to 11th seeded Michigan State 1-0 on Dec. 1. “Central Ohio’s starting to become a good place for (developing soccer) players,” Witkoff says. “As a whole, the area is getting better and better. I’m excited to see the new players come up.” CAPITAL HITS THE RIGHT NOTES Each of the Columbus players has taken different paths to get to their respective NCAA tournaments. Corey McClellan, a senior defender for Capital, says the Crusaders’ march to the national title started some 5,000 miles away from Columbus in August. The Worthington Kilbourne graduate credits a preseason trip to Sao Paulo, Brazil for unifying the returning players. “After spending time together and performing really well there, we knew this was going to be a different year,” McClellan says. “We set some goals during that trip and we did everything we could to reach them. “We’re creating a legacy for ourselves. Winning the Ohio Athletic Conference title (with a 7-2 record and a 4-0 win over Jonathan Carroll in the conference tournament final on Nov. 10) opened everyone’s eyes. We realized this team is capable of doing so much more.” Kouns drew players from Kilbourne (McClellan and senior forward/midfielder Livvy Hein), Canal Winchester (freshman midfielder Jenna Zuberi), Grandview (senior forward Hilary Ells), New Albany (sophomore midfielder Megan Tolnar), Thomas Worthington (sophomore forward Kim Hoerauf), Watkins Memorial (freshman defender Melissa Spurbeck), Westerville North (freshman defender Cassaddie Roach) and Worthington Christian (junior midfielder Jessie Cermelj). The Crusaders won the OAC tournament five times and made it to the NCAA tournament four times before this season but Capital had never advanced this far in the tournament. Making it to the ethereal heights of the semifinals is a relatively new experience for the Columbus natives. None of the Capital’s Columbus contingent were from high schools that made it to the state semifinals in the 2000s. “This group may not have won a lot of state championships or played at the highest level of soccer but they came into this program with a work rate,” Kouns says. “I’ll take a team of piano movers any day of a week over a team of maestros. The maestro can’t play the piano unless someone has moved it there. “They work and fight for each other and given us that piano carrier mentality. Honestly that’s why we’ve been successful.” TRADITIONAL POWER IN AN UNFAMILIAR ROLE During his senior year at Upper Arlington, Grumman was looking for a college with two things: a good reputation in academics and a strong soccer program. He found both at Williams in Williamstown, Mass. Since 1993, the Ephs (so named in honor of school founder Ephraim Williams) have only missed the NCAA tournament three times (1997, 2008 and 2011). The Massachusetts school won the title in 1995, placed second in 1993, and reached the semifinals in 1998, 2009 and 2012. Last year, Williams lost to Ohio Northern University 3-2 in a national semifinal game. “I had very strong goals in soccer and academically and I really wanted to find a college with that combination,” Grumman says. “Everything fell into place.” However, the Ephs found themselves in an unfamiliar position at the start of this season. Williams started the season 3-2 overall, equaling the number of losses it had in 2012, and finished the regular season 9-4 overall. The Ephs lost to Amherst 1-0 in the finals of the New England Small College Athletic Conference tournament. “No one expected us to come back here,” says Grumman, whose team received an at-large bid for the NCAA tournament. “We were really the dark horse team.” Williams avenged two of its losses by beating Amherst 1-0 in a Nov. 24 sectional final, handing the Lord Jeffs’ first loss in 40 matches over the last two seasons. “(The regular season losses) were a tough pill to swallow but they made our team stronger,” Grumman says. “They were ultimately a good wake-up call for us. “I always felt like this was a very talented, very skilled team. We peaked in the latter parts of the season. That’s how we’ve been able to make such a good run in the NCAA tournament.” Grumman hopes having been to the national semifinals last year will help prepare Williams for Friday’s match with Messiah College. The Falcons (22-1-1) have won nine national titles including four in the last five seasons. “Going to San Antonio was a crazy experience. You can get caught up in the bright lights and being there for the first time,” Grumman says. “Having been there once, we’ll be a lot more focused and prepared for the task at hand this time.” A TASTE OF THE TOP All three of the locals who made it to the third round of the Division I tournament got a taste of playing soccer at the highest level in high school. Witkoff and Crognale were sophomores when Gahanna won the 2010 Division I state championship with a 4-3 shootout win over Cleveland St. Ignatius. De Andrade and the Patriots captured the 2012 Division I championship with a 2-0 win over Sylvania Southview and lost to St. Ignatius 4-2 in the 2011 championship game. “That experience was huge. Being exposed in those kind of games early (in our career) helped us out in college,” Witkoff says. “After winning a state title in high school, all I want to do is to get to the final game in college and play there.” Witkoff came close last year when the Hoyas lost to Indiana 1-0 in the school’s first appearance in the national final. Since its first season in 1952, the Hoyas had made only four appearances in the NCAA tournament and had never made it past the round of 16 before last season. “Last year we were rookies in the tournament,” Witkoff says. “Making the final was definitely a thrill. There was a lot of excitement, a lot of butterflies. Losing the (championship) game was terrible but overall it was an awesome experience.”