The Crestwood Red Devils boys’ soccer team appeared at the end of their rope, not having much left in the tank in the second half against Bristol in the Ohio High School Athletic Association Division III Northeast 1 sectional championship. But the Red Devils still prevailed 1-0 against the Panthers to repeat as the sectional champions last Thursday evening at Jack Lambert Stadium in Mantua.
“I am actually speechless,” said Coach Eric Sway. “A year-and-a-half go we sat here on July 30 and did not have a team and a year-and-a-half later we have 22 wins and two sectional titles. I think that speaks for itself.”
The Red Devils will face Hanoverton United in the district semifinal match at United Eagles Stadium in Hanoverton on Tuesday evening at 6 p.m.
“We are not going to go and play scared,” said the second-year coach. “We are going to go out there and do what we can to try and win the game.”
On Thursday, both Crestwood (11-6-0, 3-2-0) and the Panthers took aggressive approaches to the match, combining to record 12 shots on goal in the first half.
The Red Devils and Bristol each tallied six shots at the net but Crestwood scored the decisive goal when junior forward Elijah Jurisch split a pair of defenders in the box to receive a through ball from senior forward Hans Seibold and slotted the ball into the left corner inside the 24th minute of play, pushing Crestwood ahead 1-0.
“It was an amazing pass by Hans,” said the Red Devils’ junior. “I probably could not have had a better touch than what I did but it was perfect. I went right between the defenders and kept my cool and went right to that back corner and it was a great process.”
Since last season, Crestwood has taken pride in defending its home field, compiling a 14-5-1 record over two seasons.
“We’ve been monsters at home,” said senior goalkeeper Charlie Schweickert. “We take pride in winning at our home field for our home fans. They came out to support us all year and we get great crowds so we take pride in putting on the red and black jerseys and playing in front of our home crowd.”
Despite a successful first half in which the Red Devils took the lead, Bristol was relentless in the second half.
Although Crestwood had the advantage in scoring, the Panthers had several more reserves to put into the match and the disparity showed in the second half as Bristol’s attack dominated possession.
Jurisch acknowledged it was difficult for Crestwood to generate any sort of offense against the Panthers.
“It was really tough,” he added. “At that point Cooper Pausch and I were dropping back and so did Hans. We really could not get any offense going and we were really focused on defense at that point and were just trying to stop their attack.”
The Panthers’ attack was relentless, posting six shots at the net but Schweickert kept a clean net to preserve Crestwood’s lead.
“I had to be on my toes at all times,” the Red Devils’ senior goalie said. “They had a really good offensive attack in the second half with Jayden Miller and Zane Shafer. They played really well together and Jordan Holliday in the middle was super-fast and he got the ball rolling for them a little bit and they got some really good looks on goal. The defense was able to save a few and we were able to capitalize on a few opportunities.”
Schweickert’s swift thinking saved a Crestwood squad that did not have much energy to burn, only mustering one shot on goal in the second half and having to play more of a defensive-minded approach to fend off the Panthers.
“We kept putting guys back,” said Sway. “We kept putting guys in our formation and we went and moved Gavin Dunfee to the wing and put Kyle Shelhammer up top because they had not seen him up top in the first half so we thought we would throw something new at them but it was not effective. They were coming at us and even though they did come with a ton of numbers, they were beating our guys.
Although the Red Devils roster 14 players, only one reserve played and ten of the starting 11 played the entire 80 minutes. But Crestwood did not allow its tired legs to end its season, recording its third shutout victory of the year to advance.
Should Crestwood defeat the Golden Eagles on Tuesday evening, it would face either Wickliffe or Andrews Osbourne Academy in the district championship at Bo Rein Memorial Stadium at Niles McKinley High School on Saturday at 11 a.m.
