Mooney’s boys soccer season ends after 2-0 loss to CVCA

By Greg Gulas

The Cardinals had their season end for the second straight year in the regional semifinals by the Royals.

SOLON — Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy is fast becoming the arch-nemesis of the Cardinal Mooney boys soccer team.

For the second straight year the Royals, ranked No. 1 in the state coaches poll, eliminated the Cardinals from the Division II regional tournament, 2-0, Tuesday night at Solon High School.

Last year the Royals won 1-0, and earlier this year they beat the Cardinals 3-0 in a regular-season game. That was No. 2-ranked Mooney’s only loss in its last 10 games of the regular-season. The other nine games were all wins by shutout.

“There is a reason that CVCA is ranked No. 1 in the state,” said Mooney coach Larry Lencyk. “They are a program that has been strong for many years.

“Our senior leadership has been evident all season long, but most especially tonight. Everyone seemed to play like they had never played before.”

“It makes me proud to see that they wanted this game so badly, yet it hurts to see that group walk out of here without the victory,” he added.

The Royals outshot the Cardinals 4-1 in the first half and 9-3 for the game, registering the only goal of the first 40 minutes when Brian Petak scored off an assist by Stephen Morris at the 26:56 mark.

The score would remain that way for over 36 minutes in the second half, until the Royals’ Matt Mason found the far left post with his kick to round out the scoring and a 2-0 CVCA advantage.

“There is not a team that we respect more than Cardinal Mooney High School,” said CVCA coach Jason Spodnick.

“This, like past games with the Cardinals, was a hard fought affair and one in which you had better focus all 80 minutes.”

“They try to do the same things that we do. It was pretty much a toss up game and my hat goes off to them for their overall effort,” he added.

Cardinal senior Leo Hicks called it a game of missed opportunities for his team.

“We had a great overall effort. We just couldn’t finish off our opportunities,” he said.

“It seemed as if each time we had a chance to score we just couldn’t finish the play. The ball just didn’t bounce our way tonight,” he added.

Royals’ goalie Ryan Cook, who pitched a second shutout at Cardinal Mooney this season, felt his team’s defense deserved much of the credit for his shutout.

“Our defense is simply out of control. There’s a chemistry there right now that has everyone feeding off of each other,” he said.

“The elements were as much a part of the game today as anything, but we stayed strong mentally and were able to keep their [Cardinal Mooney’s] offense in check,” Cook stated.

The Cardinals finished their season 16-4 while the Royals improved to 17-2-1, advancing to the regional title game Saturday at 3 p.m. at Lyndhurst Brush High School.