By John Erardi for the Cincinnati Enquirer

COLUMBUS - When St. Xavier scored on a textbook, two-pass exchange that hit Bryan Kanu in stride 90 seconds into the second half of the state title game here Friday night, all 3,039 soccer fans in Crew Stadium thought, "Uh-oh, here come the Bombers."

Everybody, that is, except St. Ignatius.

"They started the game with three guys forward and three guys back," said St. X coach Henry Ahrens, "and after we scored, they still had three up, three back. A different team might have shut it down, put four in the back, two up front...They don't rattle."

The St. Ignatius Wildcats won 3-1, for their second straight state title, 30th straight victory overall and 23-0 this season. They are ranked No. 1 in the country.

St. X finished 18-3-2.

St. Ignatius' first goal came at 11:58 of the first half by senior Jeremy Deighton at point-blank range. It was set up in pinball fashion, when senior Mark Blades' shot had deflected off a St. X defender's foot, straight to Deighton, about seven yards from the goal.

St. Ignatius' second goal came a minute before halftime, and was even more of a gift than the first.

Junior Audric Kilroy hustled the ball down the left flank to the end line, crossed it left-footed to the middle of the box, and somehow split two St. X defenders.

"We had a chance to clear it and just missed it, Ahrens said.

Senior Stephen Szendrey smashed it by St. X goalie Ryan Dalton from about 16 yards out.

"They (St. I) got a lot more people into their attack (late in the second half)," said St. X senior Casey Logan.

Fans had barely settled back into the seats for the second half when St. X scored on a two-pass exchange that looked as though it came out of a clinic.

St. X's Logan played a through ball into the box, where senior Steven Trombetta flicked it to senior forward Kanu, who was streaking to the box.

I slowed it down just enough so he could get on the end of it," Trombetta said.

Kanu, who finished strong to make it 2-1, said: "I saw a defender going toward the ball, so I made a run to his right side and Casey and Steven got me the ball. I first-timed it to the keeper's left side."

Trombetta: "We've played 23 games, and what sets (St. I) apart is they have three studs going (to) Division I (universities)."

St. Ignatius made it 3-1 at 21:28. Kilroy played a quick restart into the right side of the box, where Deighton chested in downward and then one-kicked it past Dalton's left.

"Every second, just like that," said Dalton, snapping his fingers, "they were on the counter-attack, breathing down our throats. They work the ball around well."

Dalton had nine saves, two absolute gems.

"He kept us in the game the second half," Ahrens said.

St. I out-shot St. X 22-13, 12-5 on goal.

It ended a heck of season by St. X: 175 Ohio Division I Boys teams started the season; St. X finished No. 2. It's the first time a Division I boys' team from Cincinnati had made it to the final game since Turpin in 1986.

St. X won the state title in 1983. It was the Bombers' first time in the Final Four since 2002. St. X was first in the Enquirer coachespoll, ninth in the final AP poll last month.

"It was a great season, incredible working with this group of guys," Kanu said. "We're going to have this memory forever, making it here to the state finals."

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