PHOTO BY JEFF HARWELL (FLICKR)
CVCA senior Greg Kutchin is on the receiving end of celebratory hug from a teammate after the Royals' 5-1 Division III state semifinal win over Chippewa Tuesday night in Solon.
SOLON -- Following the resignation of a popular and highly successful head coach and the graduation of 22 players, few would have projected the 2009 CVCA Royals making a return trip to the OHSAA boys soccer finals.
Yet, after a 5-1 Division III state semifinal win over Chippewa on Tuesday night at Solon High School, these unheralded Royals and their first-year head coach are on the verge of an unprecedented achievement in the school's rich soccer history.
With a win Friday over Worthington Christian at Columbus Crew Stadium, these Royals (16-0-5) could become the first undefeated state championship team in school history.
"No one expected us to do this," CVCA junior wing Evan Crocker said. "We've just worked our butts off, the whole team, since January really together and it's going to be a great experience going down there for us (to Columbus for the state final). We've been down there a few times, a few of us, but the majority of the team, there's only been five or six guys that have been down there on this team, and we're going down with a whole new crew playing against a Worthington Christian team that lost last year, the same experience we had (losing a state final). We're friendly rivals with them. It's going to be a great experience."
The graduation of nine starters from last year's Division II state runner-up squad left a largely untested team for rookie head coach Jon Taylor. Furthermore, the 2002 CVCA graduate had big shoes to fill, succeeding Jason Spodnik, who had guided the Royals to state championships in 2004 and 2007 and was moving into an administrative post at the school.
Taylor, meanwhile, was coming from Azusa (Calif.) Pacific University, where he had served as an assistant men's soccer coach for two seasons, including an NAIA national championship team in 2007.
"This senior group, no matter how many years I coach, they'll always be a special group to me," Taylor said. "They are the group that came along side of me as I was new and they really picked up the banner and the idea of the program is still the program. This still is CVCA soccer.
"The guys really bought into that early on when I moved back to Ohio in February and we sat around eating pizza together and sharing with them my goals and expectations and my dreams really and they bought into that totally."
Something had to give as CVCA and Chippewa both brought 20-match unbeaten streaks into the state semifinal. Chippewa had lost its season opener to Norton 2-1, but did not lose again until Tuesday night.
The Royals had at least four excellent chances in the first 24 minutes and their attack was relentless. It felt like they might explode at any moment and that's exactly what happened.
CVCA pounded back-to-back goals at 16:01 and 12:01 to take charge. Senior Jake Risma scored first after a Jack Thompson corner was headed to the surface by sophomore Sachem Wilson. The ball popped into the clear for the a second and Risma put away the opportunity.
Senior Tim Hudec scored next following a Stephen Morris throw-in. The ball ricocheted from left to right and Hudec got a foot on it and directed it into the goal.
"We're a system team. We play as a group," Taylor said. "Everybody is involved and we try to build from the back to the front."
Junior Michael Dudics got Chippewa on the board at 11:23, blasting home a direct kick from 26 yards out, after Jimmy Hardgrove ran past the ball.
At 4:23, senior Greg Kutchin floated a long free kick to just inside the 18, Hudec flicked it backward with his head and junior Evan Crocker picked up the loose change, held off two Chippewa defenders and scored.
"I think that goal for them to make it 2-1 was a momentum changing goal and then the goal for us to come back and make it 3-1 is another momentum changing goal," Taylor said.
Thompson, a junior, scored his 14th goal of the playoffs at 28:16 of the second half on an assist from senior Christian Ohman.
Wilson closed out the scoring at 5:05 with a pretty unassisted goal, after making a nice run.
"I think we were nervous and in awe of their history," Chippewa coach Russ Coney said. "When they got that third goal, it really hurt us."
The Chipps, regional champions and champs of the Wayne County League, closed at 17-2-3.
CVCA will meet Worthington Christian (17-1-4) for the OHSAA Division III title at noon Friday at Columbus Crew Stadium.