MATT FOLDESY CONTINUES TO SPARK THE OFFENSE.
'CATS TAME THE TIGERS IN THE SECOND HALF AND IMPROVE TO 11-0.
POSTED ON 9/29/10 AT 12:46 A.M.
By Eddie Dwyer
Copyright, Sept./Oct. 2010
Matt Foldesy is going to tally many memorable goals before his soccer career at Saint Ignatius comes to an end.
It's a good bet, however, that the gifted junior forward will always remember the Wildcats' past two games, and the mark he left on both of them
Foldesy, who scored the game-winner with 14 seconds remaining in a thrilling victory at Massillon Jackson on Saturday night, returned to his home turf on a rainy Tuesday evening and again took command.
Saint Ignatius, with Foldesy scoring the 'Cats' second and third goals, broke open a game that was tied at halftime and went on to defeat the hungry-for-an-upset Twinsburg Tigers, 4-1, on Wasmer Field.
The Wildcats, ranked third in the Powerade ESPN Rise Fab 50 national poll, improved to 11-0 and have now outscored their opponents, 38-4.
“Definitely, it's a team effort,” said Foldesy, after he tallied his team-leading 9th and 10th goals of the season. “If my teammates aren't out there, I don't get those chances. They find me in good spots. The Jackson goal was memorable for sure, just looking up at the clock you never score with 14 seconds left in an outdoor game.
“You have to put it all out there for the team, because you remember how heartbroken they were last year (after a 1-0 shoot-out loss to Gahanna Lincoln in the state championship game),” Foldesy continued, emphasizing that his purpose is to help the seniors reach the championship game again.
Saint Ignatius had plenty of chances in the early going on Tuesday night, before senior midfielder and Davidson recruit Luke Blades made it 1-0 with just over 10 minutes remaining in the first half.
Twinsburg (4-2-5), which got an outstanding effort in goal by the versatile Jacob Russel, did a nice job of crashing the net as a team in tying the score late in the first half.
“He's a special player,” said Wildcats coach Mike McLaughlin '85 of Foldesy, who is a son of former St. Edward High School and Cleveland State University All-American and Hall of Fame wrestler Dan Foldesy. “He can do things with the ball that are enjoyable to watch. He's tricky and a good finisher.
“It was hard tonight. That's a team (Twinsburg) that is really well organized and they haven't let up too many goals this year. I think the most they let up in a game was two (at Strongsville). So to put four on them was a good thing.
"But we had to work for it. Their goalkeeper is one of the better goalies in the state.”
With the Tigers riding the momentum of their game-tying goal, it was imperative for Coach McLaughlin's team to regain control in the second half.
And no Wildcat realized that more than Foldesy, who scored the go-ahead goal at the 17:22 mark of the second half and less than a minute later made it 3-1 with an authoritative shot off the hustle of senior midfielder Ryan Ivancic.
Saint Ignatius left no doubt, as junior forward Preston Spurrier scored with 1:59 to go.
“Ryan (Ivancic) and Luke (Blades) on the wings. When we throw them both out there, they run the whole field,” Foldesy said. “They're constantly running by me. They work hard in practice, they're great captains and they get us going. Yeah, they're awesome guys. I have a lot of respect for them.”
Ivancic's hustle didn't go unnoticed by the soccer-savvy Mark Szwejkowski '11 and Mike Watts '11 of the Saint Ignatius Broadcasting Club, or the eyes of one of the top coaches in the nation.
“Usually you get a kid who works hard, but maybe he doesn't have great skill, or has great skill and doesn't work hard,” McLaughlin said. “But Ryan is a great combination of skill and work ethic. He's that way in the classroom, he's that way in everything he does.”
LINE OF THE NIGHT: It came off the colorful commentary of Mark Szwejkowski, who described multi-skilled senior defender Greg Kurtz as the "Swiss Army Knife" of the team.