Second-half goal brings down nationally-ranked Shamrocks
By RICHIE HALL
Guerin Catholic’s Christian Zermeno put it best after he and the Golden Eagles scored an incredible win Saturday, Sept. 20 over a nationally-ranked team.
“It’s just 11 v 11,” he said. “On paper anyone could be better than anyone, but on any given day, it’s whoever wants it more.”
Guerin Catholic definitely wanted that victory when it took on Louisville Trinity, the top-ranked team in Kentucky and a top-five team in the nation, according to MaxPreps. The Golden Eagles earned some notice by upsetting the Shamrocks 1-0 in an intense and rain-delayed game at the Guerin Catholic field.
The first half of the game was scoreless. The Golden Eagles had a scoring chance when Zermeno took the ball on a breakaway and kicked it towards the net. The Shamrocks goalkeeper was able to deflect it away, keeping the game scoreless at halftime.
The second half was delayed due to rain and lightning in the area. Once the half finally began, it took Guerin Catholic until the 58th minute to finally get its goal. Zermeno stole the ball from a Trinity player right in front of the goal box and kicked it in for the score.
“Those chances don’t come often,” said Zermeno. “When you get them, you have to put them away.”
The Golden Eagles held their own for the remaining 22 minutes. Goalkeeper Ryan McGrath had several saves, including one where he caught a deflected ball after it soared high into the air. With five minutes left, Cooper Prater kicked out a breakaway goal.
“I knew especially after the rain delay it was going to be slick out here, so I had to be ready for the balls over the top,” said McGrath. “Just be active back there.”
Golden Eagles coach Jim Alvarez was happy with how his team closed the game, especially after a contest last week where Guerin Catholic held a lead on Class 3A No. 1 Harrison before the Raiders came to win.
“We’ve got to learn how to meet the moment and close,” said Alvarez. “We’ve talked about that for the last week, since that game, and we closed today. It’s about meeting the moment and the boys having the energy. I hate to say coach-speak, but to dig down and they got it done.”
Guerin Catholic is ranked No. 3 in Class 2A. The Golden Eagles are 9-4 for the season, with all their losses coming from 3A teams. The GC team has three games left in the regular season, starting with a home game against Tri-West tonight.
“If we lose our next game, this game doesn’t mean anything,” said Alvarez. “So now it’s about building from this and continuing each game. Coach-speak again: we talk about one game at a time and this team has really done that.”