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The Quest for Nine Ends in Victory: Wildcats Defeat Olentangy Liberty

By Gianluca DiGiacomo '22, 11/12/19, 11:30AM EST

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The Wildcats' ninth state title run finished with a 4-0 victory.

On Sunday, the Wildcats faced Olentangy Liberty in the Division I State Championship at Mapfre Stadium, looking for their ninth State Championship, their first since 2016.

On the other hand, Olentangy Liberty was looking for redemption, as they had made it last year but took a crushing defeat to the Medina Bees.

Both sides were packed with loyal fans, looking to see their team succeed in winning the State Championship. In the end, the Wildcats’ fans walked away happy. 

Both sides had to make a good amount of adjustments to their style of play for this game, much more preparation was needed than the average fan would anticipate. With the field being much larger, and playing on Kentucky Bluegrass instead of the requisite turf, both teams had to quickly adjust their game planning.

Both teams lined up as expected. The Wildcats began with their fantastic line up with eleven seniors, while the Patriots had the same lineup as the match in the regular season.

The beginning of the game was quite fast – it still wasn’t as fast-paced as usual, but it would still be quicker when taking into consideration the side of the pitch.

Most of the play in the opening minutes revolved around possession in the midfield. Both teams had a few attacking chances, but they were quickly put down by each side’s back lines, which played a huge impact with the outcome of the game.

In particular, Everett Shorey earned a few chances on goal, all denied by Olentangy’s back line, or by their goalkeeper; this could not necessarily be said for later in the match.

Halfway into the first half, the Wildcats struck first with a very admirable goal from none other than Everett Shorey.

Shorey got a nice ground ball played through towards the edge of the 18-yard box as he began outsprinting the Patriots defender. Shorey took a beautiful strike on goal while off balance on the right side, as it would be placed in the top left corner in stunning fashion.

After this, Head Coach Mike McLaughlin ‘85 made some substitutions, which would be new territory in a way for the team. In the later parts of the season, it would be rare for the Wildcats to bring on a bench player, especially so early in the game.

Just before halftime, the Wildcats broke through on goal once again. The Cats would have good possession in the midfield as a ball with admirable curve would be played down the line to Luciano Pechota. The sophomore had a solid chance on goal, but generously played a ball across the box into the feet of Everett Shorey. Shorey kept his composure, took an extra touch for good measure, and struck the ball powerfully. The ball drilled the back of the net and the Wildcats led, 2-0, in the State Finals.

About two minutes later, the half ended, and the Wildcats headed to the locker room with plenty of support from their sizeable student section.

Early in the second half, Olentangy Liberty tried pressing up the field. But it was fruitless as it would only cost them ANOTHER GOAL.

Everett Shorey came up big once again. The senior again established himself as a goal scoring machine for the season, as he slotted in another just a few inches from the goal and made it 3-0, with a mind-blowing hat trick in the most important game of his life thus far.

After this, the Wildcats would switch to a more defensive tactical layout, as they would stop Olentangy Liberty from putting the ball into the back of the net. Notably, senior Nolan Bartolone would stop the best chance that the Patriots would get with a valiant effort to clear the ball last second in the closing moments of the second half.

Marko Rimac would then put in a goal with just a few minutes to go in the season with a deflection off of a Patriots defender as it rolled into the back of the net to put the icing on the cake. The Wildcats won the game, 4-0. The quest is over. THE WILDCATS ARE STATE CHAMPIONS ONCE AGAIN!

This was truly the end of an era for the soccer program, with 15 seniors, 3 Allstate All-Americans, and an overall beastly team would play their final game. Congratulations to the Wildcats for a tremendous season!