The Columbus City League Championships begin tonight with the girls' competition at 5:30 p.m. ET, with the Centennial Stars set to take on the Whetstone Braves. The boys' competition is set to follow the conclusion of the girls' competition, where the Beechcroft Cougars will play the West Cowboys at 7:30 p.m. ET. The inaugural Columbus City League Championships took place in 2011, making 2016 the sixth edition for both boys' and girls' championships
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Prior to the championships at 5:30 and 7:30 p.m. ET, a special match is set to take place at 3:30 p.m. ET between the Linden McKinley High School boys’ team and the South Bulldogs. Entry to the special match at 3:30 p.m. is free.
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In the girls' competition, Centennial and Whetstone will square off once again in the City League Championship, as the Braves defeated the Stars last year, 5-0. Centennial is led by Head Coach Barb Meleg, while Whetstone is led by Kerry Nixon. The two teams played in a regular-season meeting on September 6, where Whetstone defeated Centennial by a 7-0 score. The two teams have played in each Columbus City League Championship since 2011, with Centennial winning in 2011 and Whetstone emerging victorious in each of the last four years.
The boys championship is a rematch of the 2014 City League Championship. Which Beechcroft won 4-0 over West HS. Beechcroft now led by first year Head Coach Derek Hone enters the game with a 5-1 league record. On the other side of the pitch, first year Head Coach Michael Buschur has led the West Cowboys to a 5-0 league record.
The matches are presented by the Crew SC Foundation. Amenities such as the facility, field and public address are all provided at no cost to the schools in competition.
Following the completion of both City League Championship games, an MVP and accompanying $1,000 scholarship to be applied to higher learning, courtesy of the Columbus Crew SC Foundation and the Atlapac Corporation, will be awarded to a player on each championship-winning team.
Tickets for the championship matches sold for $6 beginning at 5 p.m. ET at the MAPFRE Stadium box office.
