Aquinas bounces Rural

By Paul Carr

SPECIAL TO THE CAPITAL-JOURNAL

In a battle between the two teams that have won the last three 6A state titles, nationally ranked St. Thomas Aquinas avenged a loss in the 2002 championship game by knocking off Washburn Rural 3-1 at McElroy Field on Tuesday.

"I thought about (the 2002 title game) a lot before the game," said senior Michael Thomas, the lone Aquinas holdover from that contest. "It made the win a little sweeter. We wanted to prove that we're a better team this year, and we did."

The 38 opening minutes were tense, as both teams squandered excellent opportunities, and Rural freshman keeper Bret Ash made two tough saves.

Just before halftime, the Saints, ranked second in the country by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America, broke the ice when senior Scott Halpin tucked a redirected corner kick inside the right post.

"That goal motivated us going into halftime," said Thomas, who will play for Notre Dame next year. "It put the pressure on them in the second half."

The Saints continued to apply pressure after the break, attacking the wings relentlessly and sending in crosses time and again, finally finding the net after another corner kick.

Ten minutes in, sophomore Josh Zarse corralled the loose ball and lofted it over Ash to double the Aquinas lead.

When Luke Gorczyca's hard right-footed shot put the Saints up 3- 0 with eight minutes to go, the only drama remaining was whether or not Aquinas would surrender its first goal of the season.

Finally, in the last two minutes, an Aquinas handball in the box earned the Junior Blues a penalty kick, which senior Drew Proctor tucked into the lower left corner for his second goal of the season.

"We got the penalty kick because of the pressure we were able to put on them," said Rural's first-year head coach Brian Hensyel, who was relatively upbeat despite the loss.

St. Thomas Aquinas 1 2 --- 3Washburn Rural 0 1 --- 1 Aquinas --- Goals: Halpin, Zarse, Gorczyca.

Washburn Rural --- Goal: Proctor.

Copyright 2005
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