Triad soccer grabs piece of MVC title
Against Rochester, Caden Lutz boots a first-half goal.(Photos by Anthony Jones)
By Anthony Jones
When Triad and Waterloo battled Oct. 5, they held respective records of 15-0-1 and 14-2
Coach Jim Jackson knew that was irrelevant when they met on the pitch “It doesn’t matter if we’re ranked number one in the state or one hundredth in the state or if they’re ranked three hundredth, it’s going to be a battle. There’s just something about this rivalry.”
That analysis proved spot on during their most recent meeting.
Throughout the first half, the Knights held the lion’s share of scoring opportunities–including being awarded a penalty kick. Still, both sides remained scoreless at the halftime break.
The shutout would come to an end with just eight minutes to play.
Triad broke through the draw in a sequence that began with Gibson Hunt dribbling 50 yards downfield into the penalty area. Waterloo regained possession, but their attempt to clear the ball would send the ball to the feet of Wyatt Suter.
The senior forwards recalled his thoughts as the ball arrived in front of him, “I’ve got to hit this one time or I’m not going to have time to hit it at all, so I just hit it and lucky enough, it went in.”
Suter’s goal came with just eight minutes and 26 seconds to play. The score marked his seventeenth goal of the season, a total that leads his team.
Courtlan Dellamano finished with a shutout in net for the Knights to finish with a 1-0 victory.
Triad keeper Courtlan Dellamano boots the ball against Waterloo.
Triad’s win, coupled with a 3-0 victory over Mascoutah earlier in the week, improved their Mississippi Valley record to 8-0 to clinch at least a share of the title. In their road win over Mascoutah, Suter led the scoring efforts with a brace and Drew Neu tallied the third.
A win over either Civic Memorial or Jersey would secure the championship outright.
Taking at least a piece of the MVC championship for a fifth consecutive season is a point of pride for Coach Jackson, “That’s our number one goal when we start the season. It’s a big thing in the school for the MVC cup and we take pride in winning the conference.”
Earlier in the week, Triad added a non-conference victory to their lengthy resume against the then 13-3 Rochester Rockets.
Freshman Caden Lutz tallied the lone first half goal to push the Knights ahead of 16 minutes of play. Lutz’s score also broke an over 160-minute scoreless streak for the home side.
Less than three minutes into the second period, that lead grew once again.
Triad’s second score of the affair came in spectacular fashion, with Gibson Hunt booting a freekick directly into the net from 34 yards beyond the endline and near the far sideline.
“The back post is what I was aiming for. I hit that shot one time in a thousand tries and that one time happened to be it,” the senior captain talked through the remarkable play.
Their central Illinois foes responded with their first goal seven minutes later and would tie the contest at 2-2 with just four minutes and 16 seconds to play.
Cory Warren, one of Triad’s captains, was none too happy about losing their 2-0 lead.
The senior reflected on his reaction to the Rocket equalizer, “We really are about to tie them. We just tied Columbia too, so it was kind of in my head. I was sick of this.”
That sickness would last just 13 more seconds.
After the ensuing kickoff was quickly played up to Warren, he would blast a shot on goal to reinstate Triad’s lead at 3-2. Thanks to the quick response, the home team emerged victorious.
Teammates celebrate with Cory Warren after his lead-taking score against Rochester.
Closing out what was a four-game stretch over six days, the Knights traveled to Saint Louis University High on Oct. 7. Entering the matchup, the Junior Billikens had amassed a 14-1-1 record and allowed a goal in just three of their games.
In the cross-state affair, the hosts found the back of the net just eight minutes in. Their 1-0 lead held through the opening half despite Triad holding more possession through the frame.
Early in the second half, SLUH eyed a 2-0 gap on a goal to go attack but Dellamano deflected the following shot away. The Knight keeper snatched up the ensuing corner kick to keep within one goal.
Triad defends a corner kick while visiting SLUH.
As the Junior Billiken attack continued to press, they found another breakaway in the game’s fifty-first minute to move ahead 2-0. Just two minutes later, they added another goal in a similar manner.
With the 3-0 score holding final, Triad recorded their first loss of the season to drop to 16-1-1. Their loss was also the first time the squad had trailed all season.
