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St. Marys' Conner Rust dribbles upfield past Toledo Central Catholic's Tyler Hegedus at Roughrider Field on Tuesday.
ST. MARYS - The St. Marys boys soccer team controlled the ball throughout the game and beat Toledo Central Catholic 9-0 at Roughrider Field on Tuesday, giving coach James Holtzapple a win in his first game in charge.
St. Marys consistently got to the ball faster in the midfield and put pressure on the Fighting Irish (0-2) from the start.
"We win balls in the midfield and we win balls on defense, and then we let the offense pressure," Holtzapple said. "We did that very well tonight."
After three saves by Gabriel Perez, the Roughriders got on the board with 27:42 left in the first half. Bradey Triplett brought the ball up the field and found Braden Keller on the right wing as Perez came out to challenge. Perez knocked the ball away but couldn't corral it, and Keller got to it first and pushed it into the net.
Five minutes later, a quick TCC turnover set up Keller on the left, where he chipped the ball over Perez to make it 2-0.
"He had a great night," coach Holtzapple said. "He has great nights all the time. We didn't leave him out there too much, the older guys sat a lot. The beautiful thing is, they're understanding that that's how you develop the future."
St. Marys' Reese Triplett goes back on defense as Toledo Central Catholic's Austin Hernandez handles the ball.
Reese Triplett scored two minutes later from 30 feet out off Aiden Jeffries' throw-in, and Vincent Holtzapple made it 4-0 with 18:21 left in the half.
With 10 seconds left in the half, Holtzapple launched a shot that clanged off the crossbar, but Colten Spray was there to play the carom and got it past a diving Perez with four seconds left.
"Colton Spray up top, he's got a motor that never shuts off," coach Holtzapple said.
Keller scored again less than two minutes into the second half, missing a crosser from Holtzapple but quickly getting the ball back from a defender and tucking it inside the left post to start the running clock.
Doug Ruppert made it 7-0 with 24 minutes left, arcing a shot from 25 feet out that curled into the left side of the net. Michael Grothause scored on a crosser from Cadyn Neargarder 2 1/2 minutes later, and Will Menker capped the scoring with 10:16 left, taking a pass from Jake Ackroyd and finishing from close range.
Spray, Neargarder and Ackroyd are underclassmen, while seniors Grothause and Menker were among veterans who continued to take shifts late into the game as coach Holtzapple tried to blend youth and experience.
"I was trying to mix it up a little bit to where even the younger guys had one of the older guys with him," coach Holtzapple said. "So when Izaiah Fast was playing, he was with Adam Chivington, and Reese Triplett was out there with Noah White. I was trying to do that so they'd have that comfort, because that comfort won't be here in a year."
Keeper Landon Klaus also made his varsity debut with senior Cayden Ballweg out. Playing behind a stout defense and midfield, Klaus didn't have to field the ball for the first 20 minutes.
But he saved the one hard shot he faced, making a clean catch when Tyler Hegedus got a long pass on the left wing and fired it right at him from about 20 feet out early in the second half.
"He stepped in and did a great job," Holtzapple said.
Bradey Triplett helped out his keeper on a late chance, getting back as Jackson Garber closed in and making a big tackle to knock the ball clear.
St. Marys is back in action Thursday, as the Roughriders travel to Liberty-Benton for a 7:30 p.m. game.
