'Tough match all-around': Walsh Jesuit outlasts Aurora in OHSAA boys soccer district final

BARBERTON — The Aurora boys soccer team really had an obstacle in front of it if it wanted to continue on a surprising postseason run that had the Greenmen on the verge of a regional berth.

Not only did Walsh Jesuit enter Saturday's Barberton Division I district final sporting an impressive 17-2-1 record, the Warriors had not given up a goal in four consecutive games and owned a goal-differential of plus-64.

It was all Warriors from the get-go. After narrowly missing on two opportunities in the second minute of play, Walsh got a ninth-minute score from senior Carter Madden, setting the tone for a 4-1 victory over the Greenmen.

"Giving up the early goal, that was real challenging to put ourselves behind like that," said Greenmen coach Ryan Connor. "We had a game plan and we were trying to execute it. But it really hurts giving up a goal in the first 10 minutes."

Madden beat Aurora goalkeeper Bryce Peckinpaugh in the lower right corner for his 20th goal of the season. He added his 21st in the 61st minute of play to put the Warriors ahead 3-1.

"Carter, I think that puts him at 21 goals now — the third player in school history to score more than 20 in a season," said fourth-year Walsh coach Tony Catanzarite.

Catanzarite said he was happy to get the early lead in such an important game.

"Aurora is a very good, strong defensive team," he said. "We knew that going in. We had seen plenty of film and the results. We were hoping to get something early to try and relieve the pressure and let the boys relax a little bit. We saw exactly what we thought we were going to see — some strong defense in the middle, good goalkeeping and a tough match all-around."

Madden's teammate, Ryan Robusto, also recorded two goals for the Warriors, who advanced to play Hoover in a regional semifinal at 7 p.m. Wednesday in Parma.

Robusto, who helps the back end of the defense while also giving support up front for the Warriors, scored in his first goal in the 50th minute of play to give Walsh what seemed to be an insurmountable advantage.

"Ryan has done a great job of playing both in the back and in the midfield, doing whatever we ask," said Catanzarite. "We have taken a little bit of the scoring responsibility off Ryan. And when we ask him to step forward and play a little higher, he has done a great job."

But 24 seconds later, that all changed as a hand ball violation presented the Greenmen and Hunter Kanouff with a golden opportunity to get right back into the game. And Kanouff did just that, pulling the trigger on a penalty kick that got past Warriors sophomore goalkeeper Quinn Anderson.

In addition to cutting the deficit in half, the timely tally also was the Greenmen's first shot on goal.

"Offensively, we just tried to counter when we could — defend and counter," explained Connor. "Against a team that good, you have to really be smart about how many you commit. So, we were just trying to take advantage of opportunities."

Aurora never seriously threatened again, however, and did not record another shot on goal until the waning moments. In between, Madden tacked on his second goal to make it a two-score game once more, and Robusto's header in the 79th minute closed out the scoring and allowed the Warriors to reach their season-scoring average of four goals.

The Greenmen (11-6-3), who have played a lot of lower-scoring games this season, per their style, came a long way from a four-win season a year ago.

"We only won four games last year. I don't think anybody expected us to do anything this year," said Connor, who also is in his fourth year at the helm. "These kids won 11 games, we upset the No. 6 seed and then we just upset the 9 seed before this game to get to the district finals. We were a 19 seed. I am so proud of these guys, what an unbelievable run we had in the playoffs.

"We ran into a great team; Walsh is a great team, very talented. We gave it everything we had, and I am just really proud of the boys."

This article originally appeared on Record-Courier: Walsh tops Aurora, advances to play Hoover in OHSAA regional semifinal