INDIANAPOLIS – Brotherhood. That, more than rock-solid defense and electrifying offense, is what defines the 2024 Covenant Christian men’s soccer team. While previous groups had some great talent, they weren’t a collective unity, observed senior Josiah Swearingen. This year, they put brotherhood above all else and focused on cultivating chemistry, hoping that everything would fall into place from there.

It was a perfect mentality for the top-ranked Warriors, who capped a near-perfect season with a perfect finish, beating No. 5 Greenwood Christian Academy, 4-0, in the Class A state championship game .

This is the first state championship in program history for CC, which finished the season with a record of 19-1-1.

“We’ve been dreaming about this all season,” senior Caleb McCrory said. “Since August 1, we have been saying we will play here on November 1.”

Friday’s finale was the final chapter of a truly dominant campaign.

Covenant Christian has outscored its opponents 90-10 (trailing for just 12-14 minutes all season), recording notable wins over GCA, Bishop Chatard, Cardinal Ritter (twice), and Speedway. Their loss came on penalties to reigning 3A runner-up Cathedral in the City semifinals. Its tie was against Power 2A Park Tudor in the regular season finale.

Domination.

“Our coaches have believed in us since the beginning of the season,” said senior midfielder Zachary Jackson, recipient of the Mental Attitude Award. “We could not have achieved this without the efforts of the entire team and I am proud of each and every one of them for their efforts.”

This season, the team’s four seniors, McCrory, Jackson, Swearingen and Logan Thom, led the way. This quartet had a four-win season as freshmen, then doubled that total but lost to Southwestern (Shelbyville) in the regional semifinals as sophomores.

They took another big step in 2023, securing the program’s first winning season (11-8-1) since 2018, but were ousted from regionals by GCA.

Through disappointment and heartbreak, they learned to play together and continued to grow closer as a team, McCrory observed.

“They never stopped working,” coach Josh Brown said proudly.

“It’s a very strong team,” he continued. “We had two really talented players last year and we kind of sat and watched them a little bit. This group is very cohesive, they shared the ball…and that’s what sets them apart. They just play off each other for and with each other.”

The sour ending to last season was fresh on the minds of those who wore green Friday night. And after allowing this game to be decided on penalties, Covenant Christian left nothing to chance with a state championship on the line.

After a brief period of feeling out, the Warriors began to apply more consistent pressure, forcing a massive save from GCA goalkeeper Preston Van Til before McCrory began the first half assault with a goal assisted by Ephraim Brock .

“A friend told me he gave me $20 to score the first goal, so I had to do it for him,” smiled McCrory.

The opening salvo was a harbinger of things to come.

A few minutes later, Nathan Afolayan slipped a pass to junior William Doan, who buried the shot from point-blank range. And then Brock scored his 13th goal of the season before Doan and McCrory both added their second goals of the night, putting the game out of reach before halftime.

GCA had a high-risk scoring opportunity in the first 40 minutes – a shot on goal from an odd angle that forced a great save from Owen Hitchcock – but the rest was dominated by Covenant Christian.

“We wanted to put pressure on them right away and break them down,” Jackson said.

Covenant’s offense grabbed the headlines in the first half. Their defense stole the show in the second half, maintaining their high level of play even as the chances of a miraculous comeback continued to fade. The passing lanes to the attacking side were clogged and every time GCA managed to trap the ball in the box, their striker was quickly engulfed in green jerseys.

Ending the season with their 13th shutout was of the utmost importance to CC’s defense, Brown said, and they carried that chip on their shoulder until the end.

“We just work together on defense,” Swearingen said. “We make sure we’re a collective unit, we talk through everything and we’ve really grown. We know how each other plays, so we’re able to compete really well.”

On the other hand, Friday’s loss ends an otherwise stellar game for Greenwood Christian (14-5-2). Under first-year coach Kefil Tonouewa, they earned a milestone victory over Cardinal Ritter during the regular season, then secured their second Finals berth in program history with a goal differential of 17-1 in six tournament games (five shutouts).

“I know (our players) wanted to go all the way and win, but hey, it’s a lesson and we have to learn from it,” said Tonouewa, who graduated only two seniors (Van Til and forward Caden Camden).

“(These seniors) meant a lot,” he continued. “They are great leaders and they were there to train the first class. It was a great thing to see. They were the leaders on the field and that’s all you can ask for as a ‘coach.”

Follow Brian Haenchen on Twitter at @Brian_Haenchen.

This article was originally published on the Indianapolis Star: IHSAA boys soccer: Covenant Christian wins first state championship