Boys soccer: Avon challenges nationally ranked St. Ignatius for a half

AVON — There was no "Miracle on Turf" when nationally ranked St. Ignatius visited the Eagles on Monday. Although St. Ignatius pulled away late for a 5-1 non-league win, the Eagles proved that, at least for one half, they could compete step-for-step against the six-time defending Division I champion. "If you have high ambitions, you have to test yourself against the best teams around," Avon coach Chris Dore said. "We're going to break this film down and watch it multiple times. I saw a lot of good things, but we have to be able to maintain a high level for 80 minutes." The first 28 minutes of the match might force St. Ignatius to spend extra time in the film room, as well. Avon (4-3) outplayed the Wildcats for much of that stretch and took a 1-0 lead on a goal from London Carnie in the 15th minute. The Eagles were just the third team to score against St. Ignatius in 12 matches, dating to the start of the 2024 postseason. "Getting that first goal was amazing. It felt so good. I thought we had them," Carnie said. Carnie scored when he raced to a 50-50 ball around 30 yards away from the goal and noticed Wildcats goalkeeper Johnny Mulloy had moved up and was out of position. Carnie lofted a soft rainbow kick over Mulloy's head and into the empty net. "I play club with their keeper and I know that sometimes he comes off his line," Carnie said. "When I won the ball I saw he was off his line and decided to chip it in." The Eagles held that lead for 13:36 until Ohio State commit Bryce Ince-Lovelace scored.. St. Ignatius (6-0), the No. 2-ranked team in the nation in the most recent United Soccer Coaches poll, then scored two goals in the final nine minutes of the half to take control of the match. "We found out we can play with the best teams," Dore said. "But again just because we can play with them in short spurts doesn't mean it's automatically going to happen for 80 minutes. Our goal is to play the way we played for the first 15-20 minutes of this game for longer spans." Senior Sam Trivisonno, also an Ohio State commit, scored twice for St. Ignatius with goals in the 31st and 50th minutes. Dom Ruggiero and Cormac Kruchko also added goal for the Wildcats, who have outscored their opponents 25-2 this season. "It was a tough mountain to climb against a program that has kids coming from all over Northeast Ohio," Dore said. "We're proud of our kids and we'll keep fighting." Senior Brock Harmon almost put the Eagles on the board in the fourth minute when he took a free kick from just outside the box and forced Mulloy to make a leaping save to keep the ball out of the net. "We wanted to play our game. Normally we like to play out of the back," Carnie said. "We were able to do that at the start then in the end it kinda crumbled a little bit. St. Ignatius forced us to move the ball and make our decisions quickly." Contact Todd Shapiro at (440) 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com. St. Ignatius 5, Avon 1 Goals: St. I — Bryce Ince-Lovelace (28th minute), Sam Trivisonno (31st minute, 50th minute), Dom Ruggiero (39th minute), Cormac Kruchko (66th minute), A — London Carnie (15th minute) Assists: St. I — Nathan Gray, Ruggiero Goalkeepers: St. I — Johnny Mulloy (11 saves) ; A — Oliver Dobrovic (7 saves), Tyler Ferguson (2 saves) Fouls: St. I — 12; A — 11 Corner kicks: St. I — 3; A — 5 Offsides: St. I — 1. Yellow card: St. I — Tyler Yohman (7th minute), A — Valentino Cruzado (15th minute), Cole Vevera (53rd minute) Halftime: St. Ignatius, 3-1