St. James Academy captures 4A-1A soccer crown

By RYAN YOUNG

The Kansas City Star

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St. James Academy scored twice in the early minutes of the Kansas 4A-1A state finals Saturday, but the program’s first state championship wouldn’t come that easily.

It was only fitting, given the course of the Thunder’s season, that this too would be a challenge.

After Berean Academy came back to tie the game late in the second half, St. James junior Steve Loya scored the game-winning goal off an assist from junior Zach Kohlrus to send the Thunder to a 3-2 win at Circle High School in Towanda.

“It’s been just an incredible year,” St. James coach Rick Enna said by phone. “We began the year with a great group of young men. We had adversity early in. We literally went the full 16-game season with two to three starters out every game. It’s just the way it was — injuries and illness.

“We had a tough time coming together, but the team stayed focused, and our purpose was to come together and try to be playing our best soccer by playoff time.”

St. James, 12-9, finished strong to claim its first boys soccer state title.

Kohlrus and Christian Mata scored quick goals to stake St. James to a 2-0 lead as the Thunder controlled much of the first half.

Then Berean Academy, 15-5, capitalized on a penalty kick late in the first half, changing the momentum of the game. The tying goal came with about 15 minutes left in the second half, Enna said.

But St. James rallied once more.

Meanwhile, Rose Hill defeated De Soto, 2-0 in the consolation game. De Soto finished its season 12-9.

Posted on Sat, Nov. 07, 2009 10:15 PM

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