Pat Galbincea for the Plain Dealer

Columbus- Cincinnati St. Xavier boys soccer coach Henry Ahrens summed it up best after St. Ignatius defeated the Bombers, 3-1, Friday night at Columbus Crew Stadium to win its second straight Division I state title.

"You just can't help but be impressed by St. Ignatius," Ahrens said. "They don't get rattled or lose composure when you score on them, and they attack and control the ball. They're so fast. . . . There's nobody else that plays soccer quite like them."

The soccer team was the last program at the school to win a state title, and now has won two in a row, thanks to two goals by Jeremy Deighton sandwiched around the game-winner from Stephen Szendrey. Nicholas Tsipis, a junior goalie, made four outstanding saves, and Barry Rice was dominant as usual from his sweeper position.

St. Ignatius, 23-0 and the nation's No. 1 ranked team according to the National Soccer Coaches Association of America poll, became only the second boys Division I school in the state to win back-to-back titles. Brecksville was the first in 1992-93.

"What these kids accomplished this year while playing one of the toughest schedules in the state, to keep their drive and focus for all 23 games, is just incredible," Wildcats coach Mike McLaughlin said. "These kids also had the pressure of being ranked No. 1 in the country to deal with. I can't say enough good about what they've accomplished."

St. Xavier (18-3-2) senior Bryan Kanu, who scored the Bulldogs' lone goal two minutes into the second half to cut St. Ignatius' lead to 2-1, was impressed by the Wildcats.

"We had a wonderful season, and getting to the state finals was no small accomplishment," Kanu said. "Unfortunately, we lost to a really great team."

Deighton opened St. Ignatius' scoring when he fielded a ball sent by midfielder Mark Blades, which glanced off a Bulldogs defender. He rifled a shot from 7 yards past junior goalie Ryan Dalton.

He added a goal with 21:28 left in the game. After scoring leader Justin Morrow was fouled by St. Xavier midfielder Casey Logan 35 yards away, junior Audric Kilroy lofted the ball in the box to Deighton, who scored at point-blank range.

"My dad [Jim] told me I would score two goals tonight," Deighton said. "I looked at him, then said 'OK, I'll get two just for him.' The first one deflected off the defender right to me in the box, so I took my time and finished it.

"Audric looked at me on that restart and I knew he was going to send the ball my way. We caught Xavier off guard on that one. Winning tonight was even better than the first time last year."

Szendrey, who scored one goal in the regular season and scored the lone goal against Brecksville in the state semifinal, scored the game-winner Friday night with 1:11 left in the half from 17 yards after fielding Kilroy's pass.

"I was in the right place at the right time once again," Szendrey said. "My job was to make sure to keep the ball in the box in case it came back out. Me, a scoring machine Unreal. Though we were ranked No. 1 in the country, we never focused on that ranking. Our team became like a band of brothers and we never lost sight of our goal . . . to win state."

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