TROY – In a rematch of last year’s IHSA Class 2A boys soccer sectional final, the Triad Knights hosted the Althoff Crusaders Saturday afternoon.
The script was flipped with top-seeded Althoff coming out the other side with a 4-2 win, moving onto Tuesday’s super-sectional against Chatham Glenwood which will be played at Illinois College in Jacksonville at 6:30 p.m.
The Crusaders finished second in the state in Class 1A back-to-back years in 2021 and 2022. That caused them to be bumped up to Class 2A in 2023, where they still made a deep postseason run to the sectional final, going out to Triad.
The success-factor bump-up in classes lasts for two seasons, 2024 being the second season, setting up the sectional final rematch, this time with the Knights claiming host.
The Crusaders got off and running in a hurry.
They scored in the fifth minute when Bo Gomric played a chip pass forward into the path of Nate Pitre who made a touch toward goal and put it off the left post and in to take an early 1-0 lead.
Just like Althoff did last year in the sectional final.
“You always want to get off to a good start,” Althoff head coach Skip Birdsong said. “Although, last year in the sectional final we scored pretty early on and then they took it to us. We were pretty cognizant of that and talked about that before today.”
In last year’s sectional final, the Crusaders scored 78 seconds into the game, one that was played mostly in the rain at Freeburg High School. But the Knights answered with a tying goal just 50 seconds later and went on to win the game 3-1, securing their fourth straight sectional title.
On Saturday, the equalizer didn’t come as quick. But it did come.
In the 35th minute, Eli Noonan scored at the back post from Lance Stauffer’s cross to tie the game heading into halftime.
Coming back on the field, Triad nearly took the lead but instead, Stauffer’s effort hit the inside of the post and stayed out in the 44th minute.
“We needed a break, obviously they were starting to take it to us a little bit at the end there,” Birdsong said. “Halftime came at a good time for us. And then the one off the post would have changed a lot of things. Good for us that one didn’t go in.”
From that point on, the game got a little out of control.
Althoff was awarded a questionable at best penalty kick in the 49th minute, one that Tyler Birdsong buried to take the 2-1 lead.
Then another blink-and-you’ll-miss-it moment came when the officials may have missed a call on a foul throw-in. A throw-in was awarded to Althoff deep into Triad territory, sending it all the way into the six-yard box where the ball bounced around and was finally blasted home by Gomric.
But things got even worse for the Knights with another uncertain decision from the officials.
This one came in the 75th minute when Triad goalie Cortlan Dellamano was given a straight red card for handling the ball outside of the 18-yard box. After lengthy conversations, the Crusaders were awarded the free kick at the edge of the 18-yard box. Pitre stepped up to take and put it up and over the wall into the bottom left corner to make it 4-1.
Regardless of all of that, Triad head coach Jim Jackson put most of the blame on his own team.
“We can’t let plays or decisions decide the game. We didn’t play very well in the first half,” he said.
“We got a goal late; I thought our momentum was good. Lance [Stauffer] hits the post in the beginning of the second half, if that goes in, it’s a different game. Then unfortunately they get a PK and a throw-in that everybody in the world is talking about but the refs. I’m not going to sit here and point fingers, Althoff played well, they’re a great team,” Jackson said.
The Knights still didn’t give up, even trailing by three goals with just five minutes left.
Triad found the back of the net in the 78th minute when Jake Palmer scored, but it was a little too late for any late-game heroics at that point.
“They scored early last year, and we came back. But you can’t play from behind against a good team,” Jackson said. “I don’t look at last year, I look at this year. We had a battle with them down at their place. We knew they’re physical, we knew they’re talented. I don’t think 4-2 shows what the game was.”
Althoff won the lone regular-season meeting between the two teams by a score of 3-2 back on September 14.
Triad’s season comes to an end 15-7-1.
“Any program would be happy with getting to the sectional championship, but we expect more here. We expect to be competing for a state championship every year,” Jackson said.
“I’m happy for the guys, but I think they know they left something on the field. It’s unfortunate, but it is what it is.”
According to Birdsong, Althoff didn’t panic at halftime when the game was tied up at a goal apiece.
“We’re battle-tested at this point. It’s not like we’ve never been in games like this,” he said.
“We play a good schedule, just like they do. I told them since Wednesday, [Triad’s] not going to stop. No matter the score, they’re not going to stop. They have too much pride in their program, and I know how their coach is as well, they’re not going to stop,” Birdsong said.
Althoff moves to 23-4 on the season and into the super-sectional against Chatham Glenwood (19-5-3). The Titans defeated Springfield 3-2 in their sectional final played Saturday afternoon as well.
The only common opponents the two share are Springfield and Edwardsville.
Chatham beat Springfield once in the regular season 2-0 and again in the sectional final 3-2. The Crusaders played Springfield in their season opener back on August 27 and lost 4-2.
Althoff lost a 1-0 game decided by a penalty shootout to Edwardsville while Chatham beat the Tigers 4-0.
