A picture-perfect evening on Krenzler Field on the campus of Cleveland State University was the setting for the Saint Ignatius varsity soccer team’s 4-1 win over the Solon Comets on Thursday night.
The Wildcats advanced to 5-0 on the year with a sizeable win entering a 10-day break from competition for the blue and gold.
Originally scheduled as a home game on Wasmer Field, the Wildcats and Comets moved the contest to CSU due to Freshmen and Sophomore Back-to-School Night at Saint Ignatius on Thursday night.
The move turned out to be a blessing in disguise. As Jim Brennan ’85 – JV soccer coach and the chaplain for the varsity soccer team – read a tribute and a prayer to Rev. Robert Welsh, S.J. ’54, the sun peeked out. It was as if Father Welsh, who passed away on Thursday morning after serving 50 years as a Jesuit priest, was smiling down on the Wildcats.
“I was really close to [Father Welsh],” said Head Soccer Coach Mike McLaughlin ’85 after the match. “Of the people I’ve known on this Earth who have been the most Christ-like, he’s right at the top. It was sad news to hear that, and it puts everything in perspective. But it was nice to be able to think about him before the match.”
As the sun sank in the sky over the course of the first half, the downtown Cleveland skyline lit up as the background for a great soccer game.
The Wildcats and Comets battled to a draw in the first half of the opening period. Both teams enjoyed promising chances after time in the offensive zones, though the Wildcats enjoyed a narrow advantage in possession time. Kyle Healy flashed pretty moves in the offensive half, while Danny Kalic made nice passes and plays with his feet. Wildcats’ keeper Peter Van Euwen showed no hesitation at jumping forward to snag a ball before it caused trouble.
A promising corner came close to being dangerous for the Wildcats at 10:40. Fortunately, a lucky bounce sent the ball out of play, but not before a few “Oooh’s” from the Solon fanbase. The Wildcats did have the ball in the Solon zone, but physical play by the Comets stopped Saint Ignatius chances, including a Wildcats’ corner kick with 8 minutes left.
The Wildcats finally broke through at the seven-minute mark. A beautiful pass by Matthew McLaughlin made the goal possible, as his pass sailed from the back-right corner of the box to the near-left side of the net. Theo Kudlo one-touched it to Henry Curtis, waiting to the right of the keeper, for an easy goal into the empty net. The Solon keeper did not have a chance on the beautiful two-on-one play.
A red card handed out to Saint Ignatius with 1:17 remaining in the half sent the Wildcats into a man down situation for the remainder of the game. The rest of the first passed without event, ending the half at 1-0 Wildcats.
The red card changed the Wildcats’ entire strategy and game plan. It definitely forced the Wildcats to be more deliberate in ball movement and more defensive. However, as Coach McLaughlin told his troops after the game, the team responded well, scoring three short-handed goals for the first time during his years at the helm.
“We had to play more defensive, we had to sit back. Once we won the ball, the object was to keep the ball and not be in a hurry,” said McLaughlin. “The more we could keep the ball, the more we could slowly get other guys up forward. That was the strategy.”
The second half began with a promising chance for the Wildcats. Kory Nekoloff made some slick moves in the middle of the field at the top of the box, sending the ball barely wide left.
Matthew McLaughlin helped to create an insurance goal just a minute later. At 38:06 of the second, the junior fired a cross-crease pass from near left corner. Bryce Horton waited on the right side of the net, expecting the Solon keeper to gobble up the ball before it reached him. Instead, the ball trickled to Horton and the senior buried it into the net for a 2-0 lead.
“[We wanted] to spring our wing players out wide and try to get around them,” said Coach McLaughlin. “We scored three goals from out wide. I said to the guys, ‘You want challenges to come about in the season and you want to see how they solve things. They stepped up and solved it in a great way today. We can come up with all kinds of great designs, but they need to figure it out on the field, and they did so nicely.”
Horton nearly made it a three-goal contest about three and a half minutes later. Receiving a centering pass, Horton fired the ball top shelf, only to have it careen off the crossbar and out of play.
Solon started to gain momentum on offense in the next few minutes, spurred on by the deficit. The Wildcats, still playing shorthanded, fought hard in response. Van Euwen stole away two promising balls, negating the hard-charging Solon attack. Following a hard play at the net, the junior had to exit the game at 30:02. In his place, junior Danny Radigan stepped into the game.
Pressing forward, the Wildcats generated chances on offense. Everett Shorey and the Wildcats’ forwards created chances, with midfielders such as Matthew McLaughlin ushering the play forward. Kyle Healy and Henry Curtis showcased their speed during the middle portion of the second, helping to keep the ball in the Solon third for a good part of the period.
A Healy corner kick in the 66th minute set up the third goal of the evening for the Wildcats. Assisted by Ryan Roberts, Horton’s head slotted the ball into the net. The senior buried his second tally of the match, placing the game out of reach for the visiting Comets.
“I just want to give a shoutout to Matt [McLaughlin] and [Ryan] Roberts for helping me get those goals,” Horton said. “That game was bananas. It was fantastic. I was bodying them out there [in the box], I had to play bullyball.”
The Wildcats added another tally with eight minutes to play. Everett Shorey found Kory Nekoloff on a breakaway, passing to the senior on the left side. Nekoloff touched it once before burying it top shelf over the head of Solon’s keeper, setting the score at 4-0.
A yellow card in the box by the Wildcats’ defense led to a penalty kick for the Comets with 2:07 remaining. Sophomore Noah Jahnke fired the ball into the top left portion of the net for a goal for Solon.
“To go deep into the tournament, you have to have some bite to you,” McLaughlin said. “Tonight, we showed that. I was glad to see us fight. I just don’t want us committing stupid fouls. That gives teams a chance to come alive. We have to limit our stupid fouls.”
Next up: The Wildcats will have some time off to rest and recuperate before a trip south to face Louisville St. Xavier on September 8.
JV Cats: The JV A Cats earned a 6-0 victory before the varsity team took the field. The Wildcats dominated possession and earned a nice win to advance to 3-1-1 on the season.
Meanwhile, the JV B Cats sit at 4-0 following a 2-1 victory over Lakewood’s JV/varsity squad on Tuesday evening on Wasmer Field.