'Those were big moments': St. Xavier beats Anderson 3-0 in regional semifinal
SHARONVILLE, Ohio – Anderson had all of the momentum while the first half was winding down against St. Xavier.
St. Xavier got a fantastic finish from senior Will Kleeman with 12 seconds left in the first half. Then he added another four minutes into the second half to lift the Bombers to a 3-0 lead over Anderson in the Division I, Region 4 semifinals of the Ohio High School Athletic Association boys soccer tournament.
St. X (14-5-1) will play Moeller in the regional final on Saturday. The time and site have not been determined. St. Xavier was slated to host that game at 7 p.m. Saturday but it has to be played on a neutral site. Anderson finished 12-7-1.
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Moeller defeated the Bombers by scores of 1-0 and 2-0, part of the Crusaders’ perfect 22-0 record where they have allowed only one goal.
“We’re building in the right way and we get to play for a regional title Saturday,” head coach Brian Schaeper said. “(Moeller is) a really good team this year. They’ve had a lot of success. We’ve had two cracks at them and we’re happy to play a third. We’ll have to play a really good match against a team that hasn’t given up many chances, but we look forward to the opportunity.”
Senior co-captain Daniel Campos said they fully believe they have what it takes.
“We’re just glad to go at it again. We’re happy we get to play with each other one more time and we’re ready to keep it going,” Campos said.
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The Bombers withstood 1st-half pressure
Anderson had the most dangerous opportunities in the first half. Greyden Gliebe had a one-on-one breakaway with junior keeper Luke Smith in the first minute, which Smith won. Gliebe just missed wide from about 15 yards 10 minutes later after stealing the ball.
Smith saved a shot from 20 yards by senior Jason Tiesman with 12 minutes to go in the first half.
Anderson’s biggest chance came with seven minutes left in the half, when Alex Dorko got the ball past Smith but several Bomber defenders were near the goal line, with one of them clearing it out.
“That goal-line clearance made us all feel really amazing,” Campos said. “It gives us a good energy boost. That pretty much led to the next goal.”
How the Bombers scored their goals
With 12 seconds left in the first half, St. X senior Ty Reilly was near the right sideline and fired a crossing pass to Kleeman in the middle of the field. Kleeman struck the ball off a bounce and knocked it inside the left post. It was St. Xavier’s best scoring opportunity of the first half.
“It felt great,” Kleeman said. “We were getting pressured in the first half and that goal really changed the momentum around and gave us the lead that we needed. We came out fired up the second half because of that.”
Four minutes into the second half, Kleeman headed the ball near the left post and softly deposited it inside the opposite post. Those were his sixth and seventh goals of the year.
“Will Kleeman had to bust back a lot on defense, so for him to get an offensive moment, that was key,” Schaeper said. “Those were big moments. The first half, it’s fair to say Anderson had a lot of good moments that we had to survive, and it was huge to go into halftime getting that goal.”
Rowdy Scheer scored off a rebound with 15 minutes to go for the final margin, his seventh of the season.
Senior salute
Anderson has nine seniors: Jack Barnhill, Silas Shellenbarger, Greyden Gliebe, Jason Tiesman, Paul Brophy, Matt Noll, Davin Belka, Landon Goethe and Caleb Adams.
Goethe was the starting keeper all season and part-time last year. He had seven shutouts this year.
Tiesman led the team in scoring this year with 12 goals and eight assists. Barnhill had seven goals and five assists. Shellenbarger posted four goals and five assists. Belka posted four goals, Gliebe three and Noll two.
The seniors posted 32 of the team’s 48 goals this season, two-thirds worth.
Moeller's 21st shutout sends Crusaders to regional final
The Division I regional semifinal at Miamisburg was business as usual for the Moeller Crusaders. Moeller topped Centerville 1-0, advancing to the regional final while improving to an undefeated 22-0 record for the year. The victory was also the 21st-consecutive shutout for the Crusader defense, breaking the record for shutouts in a season set by Centerville in 1985.
Moeller and Centerville were scoreless through the first half and that 0-0 mark held the same until more than mid-way through the second half. The tie was broken when senior Bradley Poppell knocked in his 23rd goal of the season for the 1-0 advantage.
Moeller’s defense continued to hold off the Elks and the final bell went off for another Moeller victory. The Crusaders have now outscored opponents 29-0 in five postseason matches.
Moeller meets St. Xavier in the regional final. The conference foes met twice in the regular season when the Crusaders won 1-0 on Sept. 5 and 2-0 on Oct. 5.
Summit Country Day advances in Division II bracket after penalty kicks
Indian Hill took an early lead, but an equalizer from Summit Country Day led to penalty kicks where the Silver Knights finished the comeback and headed to the Division II regional final.
The Braves led 1-0 into the second half thanks to a goal from Brady Evans. Shortly into the second half, Summit Country Day’s Quinn Kreider, who had spent the season on the junior varsity squad, found himself with a shot and tied the game.
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The teams remained tied 1-1 through the second half and both overtime periods, heading to penalty kicks. The Silver Knights won in the final exchanges 4-3 as goalie Joaquin Beatty made a pair of stops and Izzy Rawlings sent the clinching shot to the back of the net.
Indian Hill finished the season with an 18-2-1 record with both losses coming to Summit Country Day. The Silver Knights sit at 15-6 and will meet Tippecanoe in the regional final at noon on Saturday at Centerville. The teams met on Aug. 26 with Summit taking a 3-1 victory.
Waynesville, Seven Hills ready for meeting in Division III regional bout
The right to play for Southwest Ohio in the Division III state tournament comes down to Waynesville and Seven Hills after both teams picked up victories in their regional semifinal matches.
Waynesville, who hadn’t allowed a goal in the first four games of the postseason, entered the half trailing Tree of Life Christian 1-0. The Spartans exploded for a trio of goals in the second half, taking the victory 3-2. The Spartans improved to 14-6-2 overall.
On the other side of the bracket, Seven Hills battled Mariemont, the team that handed the Stingers one of their two losses this season. The Stingers flipped the script with a quick goal to open the game before taking a 2-0 lead quickly into the second half. Mariemont scored on a header midway through the second half, but couldn’t convert any more chances.
Mariemont’s season ended with a 14-5-2 record while the Stingers improved to 18-2 while avenging that early-season loss.
Waynesville and Seven Hills will meet at 1 p.m. at Chaminade Julienne on Saturday in the regional final.