IN PURSUIT OF STATE AND NATIONAL LAURELS.
TWO TRADITION-RICH AND NATIONALLY RANKED SOCCER PROGRAMS WILL PLAY FOR THE BIG TROPHY ON FRIDAY NIGHT IN COLUMBUS' CREW STADIUM.
THE WILDCATS AND THE ELKS ARE MEETING FOR THE 10TH TIME, AS COACH MCLAUGHLIN'S 'CATS WILL LOOK TO SOLVE WHAT HAS BEEN AN UNFLAPPABLE CENTERVILLE DEFENSE.
POSTED ON 11/10/10 AT 7:07 P.M.
By Eddie Dwyer
Copyright, November 2010
It is no secret that the Centerville Elks, en route to their 20-0-2 record, have played exceptional defense.
The Elks, Saint Ignatius' opponent in Friday's 7 p.m. Division I state championship game at Crew Stadium in Columbus, have racked up 15 shutouts, including five in the postseason. They started their regular season by blanking five of their first six opponents.
“They haven't scored a lot of goals, but they haven't given up a lot either,” said Wildcats coach Mike McLaughlin '85 of the Elks, who have a goals-for and a goals-against mark of 55-7. “They have some big boys.”
The Wildcats, who will take a 22-0-0 record into the title game, are no strangers to solid defensive play.
Playing what Coach McLaughlin looks upon as the strongest schedule in the program's rich history, Saint Ignatius has outscored its challengers, 102-12, and has posted 13 shutouts.
Yes, soccer can be the most unpredictable game in the world. However, when you look at the defensive capabilities that the 'Cats and the Elks bring to the field, it is even easier to appreciate Coach McLaughlin's emphasis on “riding that first wave.”
And no team in Ohio has done that better this fall than the 2010 Wildcats.
In last weekend's 4-0 victory over Massillon Jackson in the regional finals and Tuesday night's 5-2 state-semifinal victory over Toledo St. John's Jesuit, Saint Ignatius road the wave first, fast and furious.
Providing the surf board, if you will, was standout junior forward Matt Foldesy, he of the crazy-fast skills. Foldesy accounted for the first two goals in each of those games and will enter Friday's state-championship match up with a team-leading 21 goals.
Among the 'Cats' other leading net-finders are gifted senior midfielders Yianni Sarris and Ryan Ivancic, with 16 and 11 goals, respectively. Sarris is bound for Florida Gulf Coast University next year on a scholarship.
St. Ignatius, which is making its third consecutive state-championship game appearance, is ranked No. 1 in Ohio and is the top-ranked team in both the ESPN Rise Fab 50 and the National Soccer Coaches Association of America poll. The Wildcats won state soccer titles in 2004, '05 and '08, were state runners-up last season and were also crowned as national champions in '05.
Centerville is Ohio's fifth-ranked program and has garnered an eighth-place ranking in this week's ESPN Rise Fab 50. The Elks are making their seventh championship-game appearance and their first since 1996. Centerville captured a state title in 1984 and this season marks the seventh time the Elks have been ranked nationally. They were ranked No. 1 in '96.
Although Friday will mark the first postseason meeting between Saint Ignatius and Centerville in soccer, Coach McLaughlin's program owns a 6-3 regular-season mark against the team from Montgomery County.
Coach McLaughlin, who has a career record of 264-38-33, emphasized that North Olmsted and Centerville were Ohio's storied soccer programs when he first started coaching. With 573 all-time victories, the Elks carry their historian's banner of "Ohio's winningest soccer program."
As for the 2010 Elks, they are led by the savvy and skilled Memme Onwudiwe, a senior who leads the team with 13 goals. Onwudiwe is described by the Centerville coaches as a hard worker and an “opportunist,” a player who will take advantage of even the smallest amount of space. Coach McLaughlin pointed out that the Elks are very adept at long throw ins and kicks.
Among Onwudiwe's complementary parts are Andrew Roop, Brandon Klepach and goal keeper Andrew Kreger, who came up with a key save off a header to help preserve Tuesday night's 2-1 state-semifinal victory over Olentangy Orange. Olentangy Orange was coming off an upset victory over 2009 state champion and nationally ranked Gahanna Lincoln.
As has been the case all fall, the Wildcats will also rely on their quick and relentless defense. Senior center back/defender Greg Kurtz, who joins senior co-captain and Davidson recruit Luke Blades as players who do numerous things that don't show up in the linescore, said defense is “what we live for.”
Kurtz has also become an integral part of the offense, scoring key goals throughout the postseason. Greg came up with the pivotal goal against St. John's on Tuesday, another trademark authoritative effort that gave Saint Ignatius a two-score advantage early in the second half. The goal, which took away the momentum the Titans had built late in the first half, was the Wildcats' 100th of the season.
As physical as the St. John's game was, Kurtz and Coach McLaughlin expect even more aggressive intensity on Friday night.
“Nobody's going to lay down this time of year,” Coach McLaughlin said.
SOME POSTSEASON FAMILIARITY: The Elks and the Wildcats have also met on the gridiron twice, with Saint Ignatius rallying to a 24-21 victory in the 1991 state championship game in Canton's Fawcett Stadium and Centerville defeating the visiting 'Cats, 31-7, in Week 4 of this past season.
S-I-B-N!: The Saint Ignatius Broadcasting Network will bring you live audio coverage of Friday night's championship game from Crew Stadium.
As they have done all season, the Thrillsome Threesome of Mike Watts '11, Mark Szwejkowski '11 and Sean Hegarty '11 will provide their astute play by play and color commentary.