Kapaun shakes up the City League with a ‘finally’ performance over Carroll
Jack Barrier didn’t know.
Since he has been at Kapaun, he couldn’t remember a time when the Crusaders were 3-6. That didn’t matter because they didn’t add another loss Monday with a 3-1 win over rival Bishop Carroll.
Barrier scored two goals from the penalty spot, and Kapaun added another off an own goal. The Golden Eagles had low energy from the opening whistle, and Kapaun took the game to them.
“That’s one of our crowning achievements as high schoolers now,” senior midfielder Jack Barrier said. “This is the first time for us.”
Kapaun came in with City League losses to Wichita Heights and East — both one-goal games. And Carroll had beaten a league favorite in North 2-1 in overtime. The Crusaders just had more energy.
Coach Anthony Cantele said they needed to.
“From a psychological standpoint, this is definitely a huge one,” coach Anthony Cantele said. “We’ve had a rough go in a lot of games, and you could make the argument that we were one or two plays away. But we had a tough week.”
As the game wore on, Carroll got frustrated as the Eagles picked up a couple of yellow cards.
Kapaun was more poised on the ball, dictated the pace in the midfield and converted its chances. That was something the Crusaders found success with over the weekend at Blue Valley Southwest, one of the top high school teams in the U.S.
Kapaun lost 2-1 on Saturday, but the Crusaders’ goal showed they weren’t sitting in and defending. Cantele said his team out-possessed them on the road.
That gave them confidence heading into Monday against Carroll, senior midfielder Rolando Chavira said. But they already had that Saturday. Barrier said it doesn’t matter who they play against — even the No. 2 team in America.
“I had full confidence,” Chavira said. “I think it’s all a mindset, just coming out and playing. If you’re going to play, you can’t be scared. I feel like that’s what we showed against Blue Valley and Carroll.”
The win is huge for the Crusaders. Like Cantele said, it adds confidence to his players after a rocky start to the 2018 season, but also it gives them life in the City League.
Kapaun likely can’t afford another league loss, and handing Carroll its first defeat kills two birds with one stone. It also helps North and Heights. The Redskins are tied with Carroll with a loss each. And Heights is alone atop the league with a 3-0 record.
But for now for Kapaun, Monday was about “finally.”
“Honestly, I just feel like all season we had the potential,” Chavira said. “But this week we showed what we were capable of. We came out motivated, and finally we just got the ball in the net.”
This story was originally published September 24, 2018 at 10:19 PM.