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St. Thomas Aquinas’ Emilio Quezada scored the first of his two goals with a booming shot.
Posted on Sat, Nov. 07, 2009 10:15 PM
St. Thomas Aquinas soccer team finishes perfect season
TOPEKA | Before the St. Thomas Aquinas boys soccer team left for Topeka on Saturday morning, assistant coach Chuck Hammons led the players on a tour of the school’s gymnasium and pointed out the banners from past soccer seasons.
“He said, ‘Each one of those banners is like a chapter to a book,’ ” Saints coach Craig Ewing would recall later. “And he goes, ‘You guys are going to have one special one.’ ”
Indeed, this Saints team certainly secured its place in Aquinas soccer lore.
Junior Emilio Quezada scored two goals off of throw-ins by senior Sean Latz, leading Aquinas to a 2-0 win over Bishop Miege in the Kansas 5A state championship game at Hummer Sports Park.
It was the seventh consecutive boys soccer state title for Aquinas and its 13th overall. Most remarkably, though, this Saints team became the second in the storied history of the program to finish undefeated — a perfect 21-0 for the first time since 1994.
The Saints did it against a daunting schedule — including nationally-ranked out-of-state competition — and they did it without the same big names of past teams.
“I think our 2005 team had eight Division I soccer players on it, and they went 19-2, and they were a great team,” Ewing said. “So what these guys have achieved without having star power is really special, I think. Really special.”
Bishop Miege, 15-5, was making its first state finals appearance since 2000, and the Stags gave the Saints a challenge — on the defensive end, at least.
Aquinas dominated possession of the ball throughout the game. But Miege, having lost the teams’ regular-season meeting 5-1, seemed to put an emphasis on the defensive end this time, and the teams headed into halftime in a scoreless tie.
The breakthrough came in the 51st minute. Latz made a strong throw-in from the right side, and junior Thomas Schermoly flicked it toward Quezada, who kicked it out of the air and into the net.
Then, 10 minutes and 5 seconds later, Latz connected again with Quezada, who scored his team-leading 14th goal for a 2-0 lead.
That was plenty. Senior goalkeeper Colby Martin played the bulk of the game, while senior Alec Joseph finished off another shutout for Aquinas.
To reach Ryan Young, sports reporter for The Star, call 816-234-4706 or send e-mail to ryoung@kcstar.com
Posted on Sat, Nov. 07, 2009 10:15 PM
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