A TOUCH OF CLASS.
WILDCATS TURN TO THE RESERVES EARLY IN MAKING THEIR CASE AGAINST THE LAWYERS.
TEN DIFFERENT PLAYERS SCORE AS THE 'CATS MOVE ON TO DISTRICT PLAY.
POSTED ON 10/21/10 AT 11:36 P.M.
By Eddie Dwyer
Copyright, October 2010
In what was a display of class and sportsmanship by Saint Ignatius head coach Mike McLaughlin '85 and his Wildcats, the state's top-ranked Division I soccer team defeated John Marshall, 10-0, on Thursday night in a sectional-final game at Wasmer Field.
Saint Ignatius (17-0), which is ranked among the nation's elite programs, took a 1-0 lead on senior co-captain Ryan Ivancic's seventh goal of the season with the game just 54 seconds old. From there, Coach McLaughlin worked in his reserves.
Only one other veteran scored for the Wildcats, as senior co-captain Yianni Sarris found the net off a picture-picture header for his 11th goal of the season. Yianni's effort came off a slick pass from senior co-captain Luke Blades and pushed Saint Ignatius' lead to 4-0 with six minutes gone in the first half.
Eight Wildcats tallied their first varsity goal and freshman goal keeper Max Hallwachs walked away with a shutout in his first start on the varsity level.
Sending home their memorable net finders were Nick Bashour, Matt Patrella, Max Pathroff, Jackson Morgan, Brendan Cash, Jay Jackson, Dominic Gibbons and Nick Taljan. Cash and Morgan are Saint Ignatius' regular 1 and 2 goalies, respectively.
The Wildcats, who worked on their passing and other facets after taking an 8-0 lead, entered the game as the nation's second-ranked team in both the POWERADE Fab 50 ESPN Rise poll and the National Soccer Coaches Association of America poll.
However, with top-ranked Seton Hall Prep from New Jersey playing to a 2-2 tie against West Orange earlier this week, Saint Ignatius could move into the nation's top spot on Tuesday.
The 'Cats will have to take care of business on Monday, when they face Shaker Heights in a district semifinal on Wasmer Field at 7 p.m.
“It's neat that the Cleveland Public Schools play in the tournament,” said Coach McLaughlin, who is now 63-12 in OHSAA playoff games. “Those kids come from different backgrounds and it's great to seem them out here working and competing. The respect from both teams towards each other was terrific. It's exciting that a lot of these kids get the opportunity to come out and play, and get their names announced. That's a neat thing.”
John Marshall now stands 2-10-1 on the season and Saint Ignatius, which played without leading scorer Matt Foldesy, upped its all-time postseason record to 80-31. Foldesy, who was feeling ill on Thursday, has totaled 15 goals this fall.