MATT FOLDESY, RYAN IVANCIC, YIANNI SARRIS AND GREG KURTZ FUEL THE OFFENSE AS THE NATION'S NO. 1-RANKED TEAM CONTINUES TO APPLY THE DEFENSIVE PRESSURE.
THE WILDCATS BLANK SOLON IN WINNING THEIR 12TH DISTRICT CHAMPIONSHIP IN 16 YEARS.
By Eddie Dwyer
Copyright, October 2010
Saint Ignatius' gifted and gritty senior co-captain Ryan Ivancic said winning a district championship is a great honor.
The tireless midfielder added, however, that the Wildcats' soccer program has set a standard in which the team expects to be in position to win a district crown every year.
“But in soccer, anything can happen,” Ivancic said, referring to some of this year's early postseason upsets.
Behind Ivancic's two goals and tallies by Matt Foldesy, Yianni Sarris and Greg Kurtz, Saint Ignatius made it happen on a rainy and cold Thursday night by defeating the Solon Comets, 5-0, in a Division I district title game in Wasmer Field.
In improving to 19-0-0, the Wildcats won their fourth consecutive district trophy and their 12th since 1995.
Ranked No.1 in the nation by both the National Soccer Coaches Association of America and the ESPN Rise Fab 50, Saint Ignatius advances to Tuesday's regional semifinal against Warren Howland at Ravenna Stadium. Games time is 7 p.m.
Solon, which defeated the Wildcats in overtime in the 2006 postseason, closed its campaign at 9-6-1.
“We try to model ourselves after the great University of Akron program,” said Ivancic of the relentless defensive effort Saint Ignatius has displayed throughout the season.
The “not letting them play” approach that veteran head coach Mike McLaughlin '85 has instilled in his 'Cats came to the fore again on Thursday night.
It is a defensive philosophy that has produced seven regional championships, state titles in 2004, '05 and '08, a state runner-up finish in '09 and a national championship in '05.
Whether it scores, misfires on a shot or just misses connections on a pass or a cross, Saint Ignatius, emphasized Ivancic, jumps right back on the opponent.
After a spirited 19 minutes, the Wildcats took a 1-0 lead on a header by Foldesy, a play that saw the crafty junior forward go over the top on the goalie, who came out to defend and tried to take possession of the ball.
Foldesy's effort, his team-leading 17th goal on the season, was described by McLaughlin as a great athletic play, by Ivancic as the fuel for victory and by Saint Ignatius' talented and soccer savvy SIBN color commentator Mark Szwejkowski '11 as possibly Foldesy's most impressive goal of 2010.
Ivancic, whose hustle is an example for every young soccer player, scored his eighth goal of the season off an authoritative shot at the 18:56 mark of the first half and, at 3:15 of the first 40 minutes, Sarris, a smooth and skilled senior midfielder and co-captain, beat the goalie for his 14th net-finder of 2010.
Less than five minutes into the second half, Ivancic made it 4-0 by sending home his ninth goal this fall and Kurtz, a hard-nosed and underrated senior defender, closed out the scoring with just over eight minutes remaining to be played.