St. Pius used second-half goals from David McNabb and Edmundo Robinson to defeat Oconee County 2-0 for the Class AAA boys state championship today at Emory. It is the third state title in four years and fourth in six for the Golden Lions. This one came despite losing several seniors from last year's state championship squad.
"We had a lot of seniors we lost after last year," said St. Pius coach David O'Shea. "But we saw a new group of seniors really step up and lead the team this year, so I was particularly proud of this senior group."
The game was scoreless at the half before McNabb, a senior midfielder, connected on a free kick with 15 minutes left in the match. From just over 20 yards out, McNabb knocked the ball low through the Warriors' wall and under goalkeeper Jeff Greenfield.
Despite possessing the ball the majority of the game, St. Pius had to work hard for its chances.
"They were strong defensively," said O'Shea of Oconee County. "We knew we had to possess in the final third a little bit better, and we did that. Because of our possession, we ended up getting the free kick (McNabb's goal). I was particularly pleased with the character that we showed," said O'Shea. "We were up against a very resilient team and we just continued to put pressure on them and eventually broke them down."
After St. Pius senior striker J.D. Manzo was red-carded and subsequently ejected with 11 minutes left, the Golden Lions (18-5) were down to 10 men. Manzo was handed a straight red card after pushing an Oconee County player after the two had gone down inside the Warriors' penalty area. But Robinson struck with just over six minutes left to clinch the Golden Lions' 10th boys soccer championship. Robinson dove to head a cross in from about 12 yards out, a spectacular play that will be remembered for a while at a program that has had its share of outstanding moments.
It was the first state finals appearance for the Warriors (19-4) since 2007.
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