Judge sophomore Adam Nork will return in 2015 as the Crusaders attempt to win another Catholic League championship after falling short in 2014. MARIA POUCHNIKOVA / TIMES PHOTO
On Saturday, the Father Judge soccer team had a chance to become the first Catholic League squad in 18 years to play in four consecutive league title games.
It wasn’t meant to be.
Last year’s champion succumbed to 2014’s eventual winner, Archbishop Wood, 2–0, in Saturday’s league semifinals, ending the season for a young team full of overachievers that started five sophomores and still managed to finish tied atop the Catholic League standings.
“They (Wood) were the better team, and we just couldn’t get in sync with possessing the ball the way we normally do,” Judge head coach John Dunlop said. “The credit goes to them, because they put us in uncomfortable situations to the point where it was like men playing boys. We took it on the chin, and it wasn’t the result we were looking for.”
Still, it’s hard to argue with the total results Dunlop achieved with this group following the graduation of 14 seniors from last year’s championship team. Led by hulking senior goalie Mark Pohl, who was not a part of last year’s team, the Crusaders fell just short; Pohl, along with six other seniors, will move on to the next stage of their lives, while a plethora of sophomores and juniors will look forward to getting back to this stage in 2015.
Wood struck first less than five minutes into the second half, as the Vikings’ Mike Smith blasted a shot on net that Pohl made a pretty diving stop on; however, the rebound landed right on Smith’s foot, and Pohl was unable to recover to make another save. Judge fought for chances to tie the score, but the equalizer never came. Instead, the Vikings scored again with under 13 minutes to play, and that was that. (Wood defeated Roman Catholic, 1–0 in double overtime, in Tuesday night’s Catholic League championship game.)
“We have a lot to work on, but I’m excited with the pipeline we have here,” Dunlop said. “It’s exciting to look at on paper. We look forward to seeing if we can put another run together. We’ll be strong, but how far we go will depend on how much work they put in in the offseason to see how much better they want to be as individuals and collectively as a team. They took one on the chin today, now the guys who are coming back will look forward and use this as an experience to mature and grow.”
Junior standouts Kevin Ceno, Eric Trush and Billy McCarthy will be back next season as seniors, while sophomores Billy Checkovage, Davis Habilaj, John Lodise, Sean McCormick and Adam Nork (younger brother of Ryan Nork, who won a title under Dunlop in 2013) were all starters as underclassmen this year.
For the moment, Dunlop’s immediate thoughts were with the seniors.
“The teardrops are tough to see, but I appreciate everything they gave us,” Dunlop said. “I have good kids, and when you develop relationships with these boys it’s always tough to see it end. I’ve been very fortunate over the years to have great kids come through this program. They wore ‘Father Judge Soccer’ on their chests with pride, and I appreciate them honoring that and continuing on what this program is all about.”
The always classy Dunlop kept things in perspective following the loss, which wouldn’t be nearly enough to diminish the great accomplishments the program has piled up in recent years.
“Winning is great, but sometimes when you lose you step back and realize, ‘Hey, look, we’ve got something good going on here,’ ” Dunlop said. “The kids make it. They bring their personalities every day. We had some trying times, but there’s always better times ahead when you have good kids that you can enjoy the games with.
“It was a lot of fun, and I’m going to miss it, but there’s always next season to look forward to.”
