This year is no different.

The seventh-seeded Celtics defeated No. 3 Olentangy Liberty 2-1 in a Division I district final last Saturday at Upper Arlington to earn their fourth district title in six years.

"This was our sixth district title (appearance) in six years," coach Nate Maust said. "What a feat for Jerome to be at the top of its game."

Jerome improved to 10-7-1 and advanced to play Olentangy Orange in a regional semifinal last Tuesday, with the winner playing Gahanna or Hilliard Davidson in a regional final at 3 p.m. Saturday at Dublin Scioto.

The Celtics lost to Gahanna 3-0 on Sept. 24 and lost to Davidson 1-0 on Oct. 3. Before last Tuesday, the Lions were 18-0-1, with their lone blemish being a scoreless tie against Watkins Memorial on Oct. 8, and the Wildcats were 15-2-2.

The regional champion advances to a state semifinal against Beavercreek, Kettering Fairmont, Mason or West Chester Lakota West at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Cedarville University.

The state final will be played at 7 p.m. Nov. 13 at Crew Stadium.

"At Dublin Jerome, we just have a lot of class," senior Jeff Addis said. "We just work hard every year. We have a lot of young players, but they're stepping up a lot. We just need to play as a team, get the young guys involved, and we just need to score some goals."

The Celtics are looking to at least match last season's tournament run, when they reached a state semifinal before losing to Beavercreek 1-0 to finish 16-2-3.

"I think this team is starting to believe that," Maust said. "I don't know if we've had the consistency that we had last year, but this team has been sharpened by the tough games we've had this year, so I think they're starting to believe that."

Jonathan Holden scored both goals against Liberty. The first came off a scramble in front of the net and tied the game at 1 in the first half. The second came with 24 minutes, 21 seconds remaining, off a cross pass from Scott Ziolo. The Celtics also had beaten Liberty in the regular season, winning 4-0 on Sept. 8.

"It's really tough to beat the same team twice," Maust said. "We came out and we played our hearts out. I felt like we really possessed the ball well and attacked well."

Jerome reached a district final after defeating Marion-Franklin 12-0 in the second round Oct. 24 and beating Pickerington Central 6-0 in a district semifinal Oct. 28. The Celtics had a first-round bye.

•The girls team lost to second-seeded Watterson 2-1 in a district semifinal Oct. 27 to finish 11-4-4 overall.

The Celtics, seeded seventh, defeated Beechcroft 14-0 in the first round Oct. 20 and beat Pickerington Central 3-0 in the second round Oct. 22 before losing to Watterson.

"I definitely think we outworked Watterson in our last game, but unfortunately, the results didn't go our way, so it was kind of disappointing," senior Olivia Warzycha said.

Jerome finished 3-2-2 in the OCC-Cardinal Division to place fourth behind Liberty (6-0-1), Westerville North (5-1-1) and Westerville Central (4-1-2) and ahead of Dublin Scioto (1-3-3), Olentangy (1-4-2) and Westerville South (1-6).

The Celtics lose five seniors in Warzycha, Carli Gasparro, Anneka Hokanson, Megan Hunter and Kathleen Smerles.

Warzycha was named first-team all-league and second-team all-district.

"The seniors had a pretty big tradition to uphold this year," coach Annie Murphy Gage said. "After losing eight seniors the previous year, they really needed to step up and be leaders. They accomplished this and more. Each of them grew as a unit and as individuals."

"These four years went by really fast," Warzycha said. "It is really amazing how fast it was. I had a really good time with all the girls I played with and Annie."

Expected to return are juniors Brooke Carrel, Sarah Myers, Carli Pimm and Jessica Sabers, sophomores Abbey Drake, Courtney Kobashigawa, Emily McDowell, Megan O'Donnell, Amelia Robison, Megan Sobotka, Katie Trabue and Cailey Ward and freshmen Makenzie Costner and Kaitlin Miller.

Pimm was first-team all-league and third-team all-district and Kobashigawa was second-team all-league. Miller made honorable mention all-league and Costner was special mention.

"This team surpassed the expectations that many had for them," Murphy Gage said. "Of course, my expectations are always high. However, others did not think this team would be competitive and they were. They, like any team, faced adversity, and rather than dwelling on it, they decided to respond to it in a positive manner. For that, I am very proud of them."