There is a new standard that has been set for the Crestwood Red Devils boys’ soccer program, that winning a sectional championship is practically automatic. The Red Devils secured their third straight sectional title when they fended off Chippewa 3-2 in the Ohio High School Athletic Association Division V Northeast 5 sectional championship last Saturday afternoon at Jack Lambert Stadium in Mantua.
“This is three straight sectional championships for us which has never been done at Crestwood,” said Coach Eric Sway. “I ran a bench of two subs on Saturday and ran only 13 kids. I had to go with the guys that have gotten us here for three years.”
If Crestwood (11-6-1) defeats Lake Ridge Academy in the district semifinal on Thursday night, it will advance to the district title match against either Open Door Academy or Oberlin at Canfield’s Bob Dove Field in Youngstown on Saturday evening at 5 p.m.
Since the third-year coach took over the program, the Red Devils have yet to lose a sectional championship. That streak was in jeopardy on Saturday when Crestwood’s commanding 3-1 lead was trimmed to only one goal after Chippewa junior Corbin Gasser muscled in a shot from inside the box in the 75th minute of regulation.
According to Sway, the Red Devils really felt the pressure knowing that they were now hanging onto a very slim lead.
“It got tight,” he acknowledged. “We were on guard. We sent Elijah Jurisch back in for defense. I felt pretty good especially with my other seniors back there on defense in Sam Wright, Drew Pfost and Cooper Pasuch.”
In addition to playing more prevent defense in the final few minutes, junior center defensive midfielder A.J. Brock had been guarding the Chipps’ best player, junior Luke Blaz and accomplished his assignment removing him from the action.
The Red Devils’ defense did not allow Chippewa to record another shot on goal in the closing minutes and notched their third consecutive sectional title.
For senior striker Jurisch, it was a memorable one as it marked his final match on his home pitch.
“It is great,” he said. “This will probably go down as one of the greatest things to go down in Crestwood soccer history and it is great to be a part of it as well seeing as I was a part of all three.”
The Red Devils’ leading scorer fueled a fast start for his team, scoring the first goal in the match when he collected a rebound off of a deflected shot off of the foot of center back Sam Wright and buried it in the 14th minute of play, pushing the Red Devils out to a 1-0 lead.
Jurisch followed up with another goal, this time by slotting a long-distance shot into the right side of the net in the 18th minute of regulation.
It marked the 38th goal of the season for Jurisch, which broke the previous school record of 37 goals in a season, previously set by former Red Devis’ standout Jayden Julian, making Jurisch the new single season scoring leader in program history.
“It is an honor,” he said. “I could not have asked for a more special way to go out. I am just excited to be a part of this journey.”
Jurisch eclipsed a school record that stood for only two seasons after Julien set the record in his senior season during the 2022 campaign, which was Jurisch’s sophomore year. According to Jurisch, playing with Julien in his first two seasons served as a great benefit.
“I learned a lot from him and Drew Ferrari,” he added. “Those two really took me under their wings and I learned a lot from them, I would not have gotten that record if it was not for them.”
Chippewa responded when Blaz fired an off-balance shot into the right side of the net inside the 27th minute of play, cutting the Red Devils’ lead to 2-1. The Red Devils assumed a two-goal advantage again when freshman center attacking midfielder Ryder Miller launched a shot that deflected off of a Chipps’ defender’s back and into the net at the 29th minute of play, pushing Crestwood’s lead to 3-1.
In the second half, the game got more physical as the teams battled for possession.
Sway said that no matter how much Chippewa tried to outmuscle the Red Devils, they could return the favor two-fold.
“These are our type of games,” he said. “If they want to give it, we are going to give it back. If you put us in one-goal games, we are going to come on top nine out of 10 times.”
