JACKSON – For the second time in school history, the Sacred Heart boys’ soccer team walked away as back-to-back state champions.
For the second year in a row, the Crusaders defeated St. Andrew’s. This year it took a 3-2 win in overtime for Sacred Heart to finish the season as the 1A/2A/3A state champions.
The Crusaders rallied behind senior Heath Holden’s two-goal overtime effort that secured Sacred Heart’s state title.
“One of the things we talked about was this is where it all started for my seniors three years ago,” Sacred Heart head coach Joe Fall said. “We got here and didn’t perform like we wanted to, and we finally got over the hump. Congrats to them. They kept fighting. To be here three years in a row is something to be said.”
Sacred Heart dominated the first half of play and took a 1-0 lead. Ashton Ware received a one-on-one matchup against the St. Andrews goalkeeper on a breakout play and capitalized on the opportunity with the unassisted goal.
However, the second half saw a shift in momentum for St. Andrew’s as the Saints dominated the time of possession.
In the 53rd minute, St. Andrew’s scored after the Crusaders failed to clear the ball from a free-kick and tied the game at 1-1.
In overtime, Sacred Heart jumped ahead as Hogan scored from ta ricochet off the top bar of St. Andrews’ goal in the third minute of overtime play.
“Honestly, I was at the right place at the right time,” Hogan said. “It’s always nice to have someone there to put those in the back of the net, and I happened to be that guy. It was the positioning that helped.”
Hogan again found the goal from a crossover assisted by Bennett Gibson in the 17th minute over overtime to extend the Sacred Heart lead to 3-1.
“On the second goal, I read the backline and they had two people stepping in on Bennet Gibson, the person who assisted, and I was just there,” Hogan said. “I realized the keeper was off his line, so I just took the shot and we got the goal.”
Hogan credited his team’s fitness and hard work being able to edge out the Saints for the win.
“There wasn’t really a big adjustment [heading into overtime],” Hogan said. “All throughout the season every Monday is a fitness day, so I feel like, throughout the season, we have truly become the fittest if not one of the fittest teams in the state. I think that helped us.”
St. Andrew’s scored with 18 seconds left in overtime, but the effort was too little too late. According to Falla, his team finally played its style of game in overtime, which gave the Crusaders the edge.
“The few seconds and minutes you saw [in overtime], that’s our game,” Fall said. “We played a pretty good first half and then we just looked flat for some reason. They really took it to us in the second half. My message was to play your game and go do what got you here.”
The last time the Sacred Heart boys team repeated as state champions were with the 2012 and 2013 championship teams.
“Tough match,” Falla said. “I’m proud of the boys. It wasn’t our best game, but champions find a way to win. I know it wasn’t the cleanest game. We didn’t do anything special. I’ve always said that I’d rather be lucky than good. Today we were real lucky.
“You put so much effort and energy into this thing,” Falla said. “Since October, the sleepless nights, fighting and trying to figure out and put a strategy together. To get these kids here, you know that’s what they want to do. They want to win and for the rest of their life, they will be state champions.”
JACKSON – For the second time in school history, the Sacred Heart boys’ soccer team walked away as back-to-back state champions.
The Crusaders defeated St. Andrew’s for a second consecutive year in a rematch of last year's title game. This year it took a 3-2 win in overtime for Sacred Heart to finish the season as the 1A/2A/3A state champions.
The Crusaders rallied behind senior Heath Holden’s two-goal overtime effort that secured Sacred Heart’s state title.
“One of the things we talked about was this is where it all started for my seniors three years ago,” Sacred Heart head coach Joe Fall said. “We got here and didn’t perform like we wanted to, and we finally got over the hump. Congrats to them. They kept fighting. To be here three years in a row is something to be said.”
Sacred Heart dominated the first half of play and took a 1-0 lead. Ashton Ware received a one-on-one matchup against the St. Andrews goalkeeper on a breakout play and capitalized on the opportunity with the unassisted goal.
However, the second half saw a shift in momentum for St. Andrew’s as the Saints dominated the time of possession.
In the 53rd minute, St. Andrew’s scored after the Crusaders failed to clear the ball from a free-kick and tied the game at 1-1.
In overtime, Sacred Heart jumped ahead as Hogan scored from ta ricochet off the top bar of St. Andrews’ goal in the third minute of overtime play.
“Honestly, I was at the right place at the right time,” Hogan said. “It’s always nice to have someone there to put those in the back of the net, and I happened to be that guy. It was the positioning that helped.”
Hogan again found the goal from a crossover assisted by Bennett Gibson in the 17th minute over overtime to extend the Sacred Heart lead to 3-1.
“On the second goal, I read the backline and they had two people stepping in on Bennet Gibson, the person who assisted, and I was just there,” Hogan said. “I realized the keeper was off his line, so I just took the shot and we got the goal.”
Hogan credited his team’s fitness and hard work being able to edge out the Saints for the win.
“There wasn’t really a big adjustment [heading into overtime],” Hogan said. “All throughout the season every Monday is a fitness day, so I feel like, throughout the season, we have truly become the fittest if not one of the fittest teams in the state. I think that helped us.”
St. Andrew’s scored with 18 seconds left in overtime, but the effort was too little too late. According to Falla, his team finally played its style of game in overtime, which gave the Crusaders the edge.
“The few seconds and minutes you saw [in overtime], that’s our game,” Fall said. “We played a pretty good first half and then we just looked flat for some reason. They really took it to us in the second half. My message was to play your game and go do what got you here.”
The last time the Sacred Heart boys team repeated as state champions were with the 2012 and 2013 championship teams.
“Tough match,” Falla said. “I’m proud of the boys. It wasn’t our best game, but champions find a way to win. I know it wasn’t the cleanest game. We didn’t do anything special. I’ve always said that I’d rather be lucky than good. Today we were real lucky.
“You put so much effort and energy into this thing,” Falla said. “Since October, the sleepless nights, fighting and trying to figure out and put a strategy together. To get these kids here, you know that’s what they want to do. They want to win and for the rest of their life, they will be state champions.”
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