The St. X Tiger soccer team continues to make their run at state with two hard fought victories to establish themselves as true contenders. After a thrilling victory over Trinity in penalty kicks during the regional semifinals, the Tigers continued to dominate by defeating Collegiate 4-2 to win the 7th region.
This is the Tigers 3rd time beating Collegiate this year. This year marks the 6th season in a row that the soccer team has ended the Rocks season.
The rivalry game against Trinity was everything the city wanted with a fingernail biting finish. The Tigers goalkeeper, TC Kron persevered and came up big in the final minutes of the game.
“At the start I was calm and excited, I’ve been in the situation before and showed up so I was confident in my ability,” Kron said. “The first save didn’t change much for me because I expected myself to make a save if I guessed the right side but it was huge for our team and for the fans because it set the tone for the rest of the shoutout. The team did what was necessary, a mass was held to pray for those injured and the team was refocused and motivated during practice on Friday afternoon. We need to stay confident and keep that hunger for winning, for me remembering the loss last year is enough but the team needs to keep training well and hold a level of class throughout the tournament.”
Kron and the Tigers stayed composed under pressure and with a final goal by Logan Seales crushed Trinity’s hopes at state.
It was an emotionally challenging game for the Tigers after the railing incident at Waggener High School the week before. The Tigers suffered two key injuries from the incident but the Tigers prevailed to beat Collegiate led by standout performances from Reed Newman, Trey White, Jonah Gates, and Tagan Haunert.
Sophomore Jonah Gates had a breakout game with a goal and an assist earning him All-Region honors along with TC Kron, Trey White, and Tagan Hanuert.
“It really is such a special feeling,” Gates said. “It’s hard to put into words. At the time I was thinking of how big that goal just was, to cushion our lead by another goal. I think the team needs to just stay focused and do the small things right and we can bring home a state championship.”
Tonight the Tigers play Butler at 7:00 p.m. at home to begin the state tournament. The Tigers, especially the senior class look to build off their successes in the regional tournament and are ready to continue their dominance.
