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Returning to the field after halftime at Millbury Lake on Wednesday night for Hoban were (left to right) Rae Naragon, Maria Libertin and Madison Kaser. The Knights lost a Division II region semi 1-0 to Toledo St. Ursula.

MILLBURY, Ohio – St. Ursula senior Megan David wasn’t sure how the ball wound up in the goal.

After she contacted it with her right hip, David spun like a top. A teammate grabbed her and hugged her.

“I didn’t know we had scored,” she said.

What began as a restart from 25 yards out – knocked home by David with 4:45 left until halftime -- brought St. Ursula a 1-0 win over Archbishop Hoban Wednesday night in a girls soccer Division II regional semifinal at Millbury Lake High School.

“I just closed my eyes and it just went in,” said David, now at 12 goals and 14 assists on the season. “I’m not quite sure how, but I put my whole body in front of it.

"I sacrificed my body and it went in. I think it went off my hip.”

St. Ursula freshman Nicole Silverhart took the free kick and dropped it right at the top of the 6-yard box.

Three players converged where the ball was going to land. Hoban senior captain Colleen Rosen, Hoban goalkeeper Mackenzie Beke and David arrived at precisely the same time.

The ball ricocheted off Beke and then David, with Rosen sandwiched in between, trying to keep David from making a clean run to the spot.

“I was going right where the ball was and I just hoped for the best,” David said. “It was a perfect service. I couldn’t have ask for a better ball.

“That was pretty ugly, but that’s probably one of the best goals just because it’s the regional semifinals and that the one that got us to the finals.”

It proved to be a heartbreaker for the Knights (11-6-3), who had scuttled Norton 5-4 in penalty kicks after last Saturday’s district championship game ended 1-1.

“I didn’t even see (St. Ursula’s goal),” Beke said. “I just went out there and hoped that I would grab it. I think it hit my back.”

And while St. Ursula’s goal may have been soft, there was nothing soft about the Arrows’ defensive effort.

“We have not been scored on by a Division II team this year,” SUA coach Chris Black said. “Regular season we only played two to be fair.”

Hoban had just two shots on goal in the first half and for the first 13 minutes of the second half the Knights were able to mount little offense.

Trailing 1-0, and with time running out on its season, coach Brian Misanko’s team asserted itself and began making inroads against St. Ursula's defense.

A perfectly placed Hoban corner kick with 20 minutes left was immediately headed clear by a St. Ursula defender.

The Knights' best second-half opportunity came with 14:30 to play when a centering pass found sophomore Brooke Simmons wide open inside the 18 and bearing down on SUA senior goalkeeper Nicole Vahalik.

Simmons had time and space for an extra touch, but instead, believing the Arrows’ tenacious defense was close by, she attempted to put the ball on frame immediately and sent it over the top.

“They played predominately five in the back all night,” Misanko said. “They played a double stopper and they had three girls behind them, a deep sweeper, and it was really hard to get anything linked with passing up top.

“They just closed down space really quickly and we didn’t get many shots off.”

St. Ursula always seemed to be in the right spot at the right time.

“Some of our best players end up not getting on the field because our back line is so deep,” Black said. “We have phenomenal players back there.”

With a 1-0 lead, St. Ursula gradually committed more and more defenders. By game’s end, with one minute to play, 10 blue jerseys and a keeper were lined up in Hoban’s attacking zone and the Knights were unable to get a quality chance as time expired.

“We’ll be back,” said Misanko as he and his assistant coaches were congratulated by parents and friends outside the Knights’ locker room.

St. Ursula (13-6-1) will meet Clear Fork on Saturday at Ashland Community Stadium for a region championship.