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St. Mary's Braden Keller goes for the ball Thursday evening in a contest against Bath at Roughrider Field in St. Marys.
ST. MARYS - With a dominant win over Bath, St. Marys claimed a share of its first boys Western Buckeye League soccer title in nine years Thursday night at Roughrider Field.
The Riders capped the regular season with a 4-0 win over the Wildcats, finishing the WBL season at 8-1 and tied for first along with Celina and Shawnee.
"At the beginning of the season, one of the goals with the team was to finish in the top three. Ironically, we potentially have three champions," St. Marys coach James Holtzapple said. "I cannot explain how proud I am of these boys, because the truth be told, we lost our first league game to Celina, and they just fought back. We've gotten better. They've been practicing hard. It's all them. They've done absolutely fantastic."
St. Marys, 14-2-1 overall, had the Wildcats on their heels from the opening kick and did not let up. The Roughriders spent the majority of the first half on offense, out-shooting Bath 7-0 and maintaining a 4-0 margin in corner kicks.
Michael Grothause got the Riders on the board with a rebound goal at the 23:02 mark of the first half. Braden Keller pushed the score to 2-0 when he scored with 3:15 left in the half.
"They came out and took care of things, and that's a habit our boys have," Holtzapple said. "They play hard. They wear people down, and as soon as we break that seal of getting one in the goal, I feel like okay, there's one notch, then there's another notch, and another. But like I say, it's all them. They have motors that don't stop and that's what I love. They just go, and go and go. They want the 'W', and they're having a great time doing it."
Just 73 seconds into the second half Doug Ruppert found the back of the net with a laser kick from just outside the box to put the Riders up 3-2.
Keller closed out the scoring with his second goal of the night with 26:28 left in the game. Keller gained possession near midfield and dribbled through the defense for the unassisted goal.
St. Marys finished the night out-shooting Bath (8-8, 3-6 WBL) 15-3, while maintaining a 9-2 margin in corner kicks.
The Riders, seeded second in the Division II district, open the second season Monday, playing host to Defiance. St. Marys beat the Bulldogs 11-1 back on Sept. 7.
Holtzapple said his squad has built up some confidence heading into the tournament.
"I think our expectations are high," he said, "and as long as we can keep playing fast, smart soccer, I think good things can happen."
