On Wednesday, the Saint Ignatius Wildcats faced off against the soccer program’s biggest rivals over the years: the Medina Bees. This year would be the whopping fourth time in a row that the Wildcats would face Medina in the exact same match, with the Wildcats winning in 2016 and the Bees taking the win for the last two years.

Hungry for revenge, the Wildcats prepared for the match of a lifetime; this has been the game they’ve been waiting for the entire season.

As soon as the game was underway, we could all tell that the Wildcats and Bees were ready for war. Both teams came in guns blazing with plenty of pressure coming from all cylinders.

Just 4 minutes in, senior Austin Zeleznik played a cross into the box with nobody making a run in. Medina’s center back and keeper had a huge miscommunication, as the Medina defender had tried to clear it and the keeper tried to save it. The ball would take an awkward bounce off of the defender’s leg and roll into the empty net. An unfortunate goal, nonetheless, the Wildcats had an early lead and their morale and momentum took a sudden jolt.

After this, Medina really began to play the ball more frequently along the wing to try to bring the Wildcats’ wing backs back to defend more often, as they contribute greatly to the attacking prowess of the Wildcats.

All of these chances, however, would be stopped. The defense held their line and Peter Van Euwen was always there when he was needed.

In the 20th minute, the Cats earned a free kick just outside the 18-yard box as Nick Russo was tripped up and the foul was given. None other than Kyle Folds lined up to take the free kick.

Folds would hit an absolute belter as the ball had incredible curve and power on it and it soared right past the keeper into the top left corner of the goal. The Wildcats were really rolling now, and a lot of Medina’s momentum was taken right away.

About 18 minutes later, Everett Shorey got a nice ball. The senior run onto it and placed it under the arm of the keeper with confidence, as the Wildcats took a comfortable 3-0 lead with just 7 minutes to play in the first half of action.

In the second half, Medina was desperate to knock in a goal, applying more pressure to our defense than ever before. The Wildcats, however, laid off the attack and began bringing back midfielders on defense to try to secure the lead.

The second half was much more defense, particularly in the midfield; both teams constantly cutting out passes and trying to get past the other side. As the clock wound down, the Wildcats had finally defeated Medina, after two long years hungry for revenge, 3-0.

The Wildcats will now take on a team they played in the regular season, Olentangy Liberty, at Mapfre Stadium in Columbus for the State Finals.