The Wildcats, with the news of a schoolmate's death on their mind, keep control of their emotions and defeat Mentor.
View full sizeSt. Ignatius' Nicholas Bashour, left, and Mentor's Colin Eedy fight for a header in the second half Saturday in Cleveland.CLEVELAND, Ohio — St. Ignatius won a soccer match it expected to on Saturday afternoon.
But the Wildcats had to play while dealing with unexpected emotions.
The area's top team, ranked No. 2 in the state poll, had little trouble taking care of Mentor, 9-0.
However, the home team played after learning that a member of its senior class had died.
Senior Adam Grodzik of Columbia Township and a member of the lacrosse team was killed in a car accident Friday night.
"Walking in, nobody knew," said senior Yianni Sarris, who used to lunch with Grodzik. "Guys were teary-eyed. I hoped it wasn't true. I went on Facebook and they had it already."
Sarris said the seniors gathered before the match, then joined their teammates in prayer.
Players wore memorials to their friend, inking "Adam" on their taped wrists. Sarris said the team dedicated the game and the season to their classmate.
They did not waste any time making their intentions known as they put up four goals over an 18-minute stretch of the first half.
Junior forward Matt Foldesy got things started when he beat Mentor senior goalkeeper Zach Mospens from 6 yards.
View full sizeSt. Ignatius' Ryan Ivancic nearly loses his footing as he goes for the ball against Mentor's Kyle Raser in the first half Saturday.Grodzik's death stirred memories of a year ago, when another classmate, St. Ignatius sophomore Dan Murphy was killed in an off-road vehicle accident.
"I didn't know [Adam] personally," said Foldesy. "Last year I lost both my grandparents a month apart and Dan [Murphy]. You know how hard that is to go through. We needed to come out with a lot of energy."
That was the case as goals by sophomore Tyler Sanda, senior Luke Blades and senior Ryan Ivancic soon followed.
There was plenty of substituting in the second half as Sarris had three goals, with juniors Noah Toumert and Preston Spurrier joining the club.
The Wildcats (8-0), ranked No. 3 in the nation in the ESPN Rise Fab 50 poll, are on a mission to win the state championship that just eluded them a year ago. They lost in a shootout to top-ranked Gahanna Lincoln.
"We like to think we are a family with the entire school, not just the soccer team," said St. Ignatius coach Mike McLaughlin. "I think we came together. Every game matters. That's how we want to approach the season."
Mentor coach Brady Dean said his Cardinals (5-4-1) hoped to give the top-rated club a better game.
"They were far superior to us," said Dean, whose club lost to fifth-ranked Strongsville, 5-0, a week ago. "I didn't want to pack it in defensively against them and went straight up. They got some early goals and we couldn't catch up."
St. Ignatius and Strongsville renew their rivalry in three weeks.
But thoughts were elsewhere late Saturday afternoon. It was announced that a rosary was being said after the game in the school's chapel.
That was of more importance than the scoreboard.
To reach this Plain Dealer reporter: jmaxse@plaind.com, 216-999-5168