O’Hara wins Missouri Class 2 boys soccer championship

The O’Hara boys soccer program includes only 19 players across all levels — a number so small that some of its premier players have been forced to step into the junior-varsity lineup this season to give the undercard enough members to field a team.

It’s a small group.

But a memorable one.

O’Hara won the Missouri Class 2 state championship Saturday with a 1-0 victory against defending state champion Perryville at the World Wide Technology Soccer Park in Fenton, Mo. The boys soccer title is the first in O’Hara’s history.

“How special is this?” first-year coach Dirk Lawson recalled telling his team after the match. “I looked at them, and they were ecstatic. There were tears of joy coming out of some of their eyes.”

Michael Drake, O’Hara’s leading scorer, buried the only goal of the match in the 29th minute. His 40th score of the season was the result of a long buildup that started in the Celtics’ defense. Austin Diaz was credited with the assist.

“That changed everything,” Lawson said. “We wanted to score again, obviously, but we knew we didn’t have to. Our goal became about maintaining possession and knocking the ball around a little bit.”

O’Hara focused its defense on limiting touches for Perryville forward Kyle Wood, who sprung a shot off the crossbar late in the first half.

The defensive task became easier in the second half. Perryville senior Pablo Mattingly was ejected in the 59th minute for an after-the-whistle altercation. O’Hara played the final 21 minutes with a one-man advantage.

Goalkeeper Zach Bolger made two saves for his second straight shutout.

“I knew back last summer this team was capable of this,” Lawson said. “When I first met them, I saw the talent we had. I can’t thank the kids enough for their commitment, work ethic and their buy-in to our system.”

This story was originally published November 7, 2015 at 9:30 PM with the headline "O’Hara wins Missouri Class 2 boys soccer championship."