High Schools

Extras

Photos

Carroll's Jon Buschur drops to his knees after scoring the winning point in a shootout after two overtimes against Cuyahoga Falls Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy at Columbus Crew Stadium on Friday, Nov. 7. Running to him is goalkeeper Ryan Sheedy, who made a crucial stop in the shootout.Click to enlarge

COLUMBUS — The Carroll Patriots boys soccer team has a new title — state champion.

Jon Buschur's goal in penalty kicks lifted Carroll to a thrilling 3-2 (4-3 in kicks) win over the top-ranked Cuyahoga Falls Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy Royals, securing the Division II state title on a soaking wet day at Crew Stadium in Columbus on Friday, Nov. 7.

Buschur, a junior center back, stepped up to the spot needing to score for the win and calmly drilled a low, right shot into net past Ryan Segedy, who was inserted in net just for the PKs.

"I knew once we were up, I just had to settle down and put it in," Buschur said. "It took a lot of pressure off of me.

"It feels great. We've been working for this our whole life. We finally got it."

The state title is the first for Carroll (20-1-2) since 1980.

Patriots goalkeeper Ryan Sheedy made a crucial stop on the Royals' Brian Petak in the third round of PKs. Sheedy, who injured his left elbow in the second half, said he was looking forward to the pressure cooker of PKs.

"I've been pretty good at PKs for my whole life," said the keeper, sporting a baseball-sized lump on his elbow. "So I was pretty excited we were going to PKs.

"It's unexplainable. It's just so much joy. This is what we've been working for since Day 1. It's just amazing that we actually did it."

Sheedy thought he hurt the elbow in the second half while trying to make a save.

"Once the adrenalin stops, it's going to hurt," said the senior.

Matt Mason scored both goals for CVCA (19-3-1), state champions in 2007 and '04.

Nick Finelli appeared to win it for CVCA with a hard strike from just outside the area in the 17th minute of extra time but the offside flag was raised. The Royals also had three quality opportunities to score in the dying moments of regulation. Petak was initially free in the area with the ball, but Carroll's junior center back, Buschur, made a match-saving tackle.

The Royals then hit the crossbar twice within a span of minutes.

The pouring rain didn't deter the two finalists from playing an up-tempo match that saw each side respond to the other. Connor Morris' strike in the 65th minute sailed past a diving Ryan Cook to give Carroll a brief 2-1 lead.

But 90 seconds later, Mason curled a shot past Sheedy from the top of the box, for his second of the night. Mason almost completed the hat trick in the 73rd minute when he unleashed a hard shot that went right of the net.

"They were just an incredible team," Carroll coach Scott Molfenter said. "They really gave us everything we could take. We were fortunate to come out with a victory. The kids battled."