MACON -- St. Pius got goals from Henry Penter and JR Cozine, both coming off nifty assists from Austin Fain, and benefitted from a red card that eliminated Johnson-Gaineville’s top weapon in a 3-0 win Saturday in the Class AAAA state championship at Mercer University’s Anderson Field.
Kyle McLaughlin added a late clincher, sealing the the fourth straight state championship for St. Pius and 12th in program history.
Johnson entered the match ranked No. 1 at 20-0-1, but lost star forward Fabian Arbarca to a red card with 16:44 left in the first half. Game officials tossed Arbarca, the Knights’ leading scorer with 44 goals, for an off-the-ball incident deemed “violent conduct.” Johnson finished the game with 10 players, but had its chances.
Junior Gonzalez twice hit the frame on one possession, banging an initial shot off the post and then putting rebound off the crossbar midway through the second half.
St. Pius tacked on an insurance goal with 15 minutes to play. Fain made a run to the back line, before dropping it back for Cozine who was true. Five minutes later, Corzine beat multiple defenders then found Kyle McLaughlin wide open in front the net for the dagger.
The win sends departing St. Pius coach David O'Shea off on a high note. After leading the Lions to four state titles in five years, O'Shea said he's taking some time away from coaching and will be teaching at Cristo Rey High School in Atlanta. He said Saturday's victory was the perfect ending
"I'm going to sit back and enjoy it, watch everybody else enjoy it," O'Shea said. "I think it will take a little time for it to settle in that this is my last one, and then once everything settles down, I realize what we accomplished."
The St. Pius girls also won the Class AAAA state championship Saturday, knocking off archrival Marist 2-0.
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