Greenwood Christian goalkeeper Preston Van Til (in orange) makes a stop during Friday’s state final against Covenant Christian.
Chris Williams | For the Daily Journal
INDIANAPOLIS
Smiles and runner-up trophies aren’t usually paired together in photographs, though Greenwood Christian players went to great lengths to make it happen.
Moments after losing to top-ranked Covenant Christian, 4-0, in the Class A championship game on Friday night, the Cougars, perhaps realizing all that had been accomplished the past few months, mustered their share of halfhearted grins.
After all, two runner-up trophies in three seasons is nothing to sneeze at.
Nor was Covenant Christian, which was No. 1 for a reason. Several reasons, actually, and they basically showcased them all in the first half at IU Indianapolis.
Crisp offensively and tougher than a $2 ribeye on defense, the Warriors (19-1-1) tallied all four goals before intermission on their way to securing the school’s second team state title in any sport — joining the trophy brought home by the 2020 football squad.
The teams opened the season against one another in August with Covenant Christian prevailing, 4-2.
“They pass really well, they found the gaps and we played scared,” said GCA defender Caden Camden, one of only two seniors on the roster. “We saw their ranking, I think, and we got scared that they were ranked higher than us, and we came out a little timid. After the first few goals, we just put our heads down.”
Covenant Christian went right to work, its first score coming on a Caleb McCrory’s right-footed rocket from the right side 12 minutes, 27 seconds into the match. At just under 19 minutes in, Nathan Afolayan’s touch pass to William Doan set up the latter’s straight-on goal.
The Warriors’ defense, anchored by Titus Falk, managed to keep Greenwood Christian from getting into any sort of groove offensively.
Covenant Christian padded its lead on a goal from Ephraim Brock off of a Jordan Green assist at 32:51 of the first; the team’s final goal was scored at 36:35.
The Warriors finished the first 40 minutes with eight shots on goal to GCA’s one. The Cougars did improve in that area the second half, sending three attempts in the direction of Covenant Christian goalkeeper Owen Hitchcock, though the Warriors attempted seven more.
Cougars senior goalkeeper Preston Van Til finished with four saves. Junior Trey Dobson attempted two shots for Greenwood Christian (14-5-2), with Luke McNichols and Bo Campbell good for one each.
“Just a lot of nerves,” Van Til said. “Half our team is freshmen, and I would say about half our starters. I honestly thought it would be 0-0 or a 1-0 game.”
The match ended the soccer careers of both Camden and Van Til, who are committed to play baseball at Manchester University and Grace College, respectively.
“They are great leaders on the field, and that’s all you can ask for as a coach,” said Kefi Tonouewa, the Cougars’ third head coach in as many seasons. “I didn’t think we played scared. I just think we were playing sloppy at the beginning.
“Maybe nerves. We have a lot of freshmen, and they’re not used to this big stage. But I think we came here with the intention to play hard and to win the game.”
Tonouewa, who nearly took the Cougars to the mountaintop in his debut season, insists there will be a second. With Campbell, Dobson and many others returning, Greenwood Christian could again put itself in position for another deep postseason run.
“I just hope we build on top of this and try to be better in the future,” Tonouewa said.
