TWO OF THE NATION'S BEST.
THE ALL-JESUIT MATCH UP BETWEEN THE WILDCATS AND THE TITANS IS THE MOST ATTRACTIVE SEMIFINAL IN THE ENTIRE STATE.
STAUNCH DEFENSES AND POTENT OFFENSES COLLIDE AS SAINT IGNATIUS AND ST. JOHN'S JESUIT MEET FOR THE SECOND TIME THIS SEASON ON TUESDAY NIGHT IN ROCKY RIVER.
POSTED ON SUNDAY, 11/07/10 AT 6:57 P.M.
By Eddie Dwyer
Copyright, November 2010
Shortly after his team secured the program's eighth regional championship on Saturday, Saint Ignatius' veteran soccer coach Mike McLaughlin '85 talked about the next step.
“They have been a dominant team in that part of the state for years,” said Coach McLaughlin of Toledo St. John's Jesuit, Saint Ignatius' opponent in Tuesday's Division I state semifinal. The Wildcats (21-0-0) and the Titans (21-1-0) will meet at 7 p.m. at Rocky River High School. Rocky River continues to do an outstanding job hosting postseason soccer.
“St. John's has one of the best players in the state in Adam Montague,” McLaughlin continued. “He's a 6-foot-3 senior center/midfielder who can score goals, pass and defend. He can do it all and he makes their team run.
“So we have to keep him under wraps and defend. We've got to stop teams from playing. It's like we've said all season, if we can disrupt teams, make it difficult for them play, I have confidence that our offensive players are going to find a way to put the ball in the back of the net.”
Saint Ignatius, which is making its sixth final four appearance since 2000 and its eighth overall, enters Tuesday's game as the top-ranked team in both the Ohio and national polls. The 'Cats captured state championships in 2004, '05 and '08, were state runners-up in '09 and were also crowned as national champions in 2005.
St. John's, which reached the final four in 2002, is ranked third in Ohio and 19th nationally. The Titans' only setback this season was a 2-0 loss to Saint Ignatius in the Jesuit Tournament at St. John's in late August. Wildcats gifted senior midfielder and co-captain Yianni Sarris did the honors by scoring both goals that day, and the 'Cats went on to successfully defend their Jesuit Cup by defeating Walsh Jesuit, 3-1.
If you are wondering how impressive St. John's has been in the postseason, well, how does five shutouts in six tournament games sound? The only challenge the Titans experienced in their run to the final four was a 3-1 victory over Perrysburg.
Overall, St. John's has compiled a school-record 15 shutouts this fall and has allowed just 11 goals. Montague, senior Justin Niese and senior goal keeper Connor Walsh have keyed the defense all season.
Sparking a Titans offense that has produced a school-record 108 goals in 22 games are Montague, senior Ryan Peterson, junior Evan Lee and sophomore Jimmy Papadimos. Montague and Peterson have each scored a school-best 26 goals this season and Montague has a school-record 26 assists. Lee and Papadimos have tallied 18 and nine goals, respectively, and Peterson has 18 assists.
“They try to constantly move the ball, so we're going to have to come out with the same energy,” said Saint Ignatius' standout junior forward Matt Foldesy of the respect he has for the Titans. “During the Jesuit Cup we stayed at some of the players' homes and got to know the team. So the way I'm looking at it is now I have to go and face some of my buddies.”
The Wildcats, who are 15-7-6 against the Titans all time, including a 9-3-2 mark under Coach McLaughlin, have outscored their 2010 opponents, 97-10. Showing the way are Foldesy with a team-leading 19 goals, Sarris with 16 net-finders, senior midfielder and co-captain Ryan Ivancic with 10 goals, sophomore forward Tyler Sanda with 8, and senior midfielder and co-captain Luke Blades with 7. Sarris and Blades have accepted scholarship offers from Florida Gulf Coast and Davidson, respectively.
While it is not being trite to describe Saint Ignatius' relentless defense as a team effort, some of the individuals who seem to thrive in any formation are senior defenders Greg Kurtz and Matt Petrella, junior defenders Zach Martin and Max Pathroff, sophomore defender Nate Fahey, senior midfielder Cody Dawson, junior goalie Brendan Cash (12 shutouts), and Ivancic, Sarris, Blades and Foldesy.
Kurtz, who in this corner's humble opinion is one of the area's most underrated players, has also picked up his offense in the postseason.
“That stuff doesn't happen by luck,” said Coach McLaughlin, whose program has either won or tied its last nine meetings with St. John's. “It's a byproduct of working hard and making sure we win the 50-50 balls.
“From the moment the whistle blows to start the game until the whistle blows to end it, that is what we have to do if we want to keep playing at this time of the year. It's a great group of guys to coach. They love fighting for each other and they're a hungry bunch.”
If successful on Tuesday night, the Wildcats will advance to Friday's 7 p.m. big-school state championship game at Crew Stadium in Columbus. Tuesday's other semifinal matches Lewis Center Olentangy Orange and Centerville, and is being played at Hilliard Bradley High School. Olentangy Orange put the squeeze on nationally ranked and 2009 state champion Gahanna Lincoln, 2-1, in Saturday's regional finals.
SKILLED AND SMART: Here are the top grade-point averages on the Wildcats' soccer team, courtesy of SIBN President Mike Watts '11: Senior defender Nick Bashour 4.46; Petrella 4.43; Ivancic 4.30; junior midfielder Dominic Gibbons 4.05; junior defender Jay Jackson 4.05; Cash 4.00; Dawson 3.98; Blades 3.97; and junior goal keeper Jackson Morgan 3.95.