There are those who feel splitting the boys soccer tournament into three classes in 2008 has watered down the playoff format.
Proponents of the move might point to Saturday and the storybook outing that Peoria Notre Dame's Danny Aeschliman enjoyed in helping his team to a 3-0 Class 2A state title win over Urbana at Lincoln-Way North.
Usually content to furnish his doses of scrappiness and energy, the senior came off the bench after an early-game injury to teammate Jerry Ivie to score the game-winning goal for the Irish.
"It was just an awesome feeling to score that first goal; I've always dreamed of something like that," he said. "This is a team thing where we all work together for one shared goal, and to contribute like I did feels great."
No matter which side of the class expansion argument you stand on, there's no debating that Peoria Notre Dame has been nothing short of dominant in 2A. jordans shoes for saleThis was the Irish's fifth straight trip to the state semifinals and Saturday's championship was their third in that span to go along with a runner-up finish in 2009 and third place a year ago.
This crown was harder to attain than the score indicated, as Aeschliman's early goal stood for more than the next 44 minutes. The slim advantage helped keep a feeling of urgency present for the Irish (22-2-2), forcing them to stay on the attack against the Tigers (21-3) while trying to pad the lead.
That finally happened on Grant Inskeep's unassisted goal with 9 minutes, 39 seconds remaining, and he added a second goal 46 seconds later to seal it.
"I'm nervous when we have a one-goal lead, because if they were to score, they'd have momentum," Inskeep said. "Once we got that second goal, we found the third and the game was opened up for us."
Player of the match: Danny Aeschliman, Peoria Notre Dame, game-winning goal.
Key performers: Peoria Notre Dame — Grant Inskeep, 2 goals; Alex Garcia, assist.
Proponents of the move might point to Saturday and the storybook outing that Peoria Notre Dame's Danny Aeschliman enjoyed in helping his team to a 3-0 Class 2A state title win over Urbana at Lincoln-Way North.
Usually content to furnish his doses of scrappiness and energy, the senior came off the bench after an early-game injury to teammate Jerry Ivie to score the game-winning goal for the Irish.
"It was just an awesome feeling to score that first goal; I've always dreamed of something like that," he said. "This is a team thing where we all work together for one shared goal, and to contribute like I did feels great."
No matter which side of the class expansion argument you stand on, there's no debating that Peoria Notre Dame has been nothing short of dominant in 2A. jordans shoes for saleThis was the Irish's fifth straight trip to the state semifinals and Saturday's championship was their third in that span to go along with a runner-up finish in 2009 and third place a year ago.
This crown was harder to attain than the score indicated, as Aeschliman's early goal stood for more than the next 44 minutes. The slim advantage helped keep a feeling of urgency present for the Irish (22-2-2), forcing them to stay on the attack against the Tigers (21-3) while trying to pad the lead.
That finally happened on Grant Inskeep's unassisted goal with 9 minutes, 39 seconds remaining, and he added a second goal 46 seconds later to seal it.
"I'm nervous when we have a one-goal lead, because if they were to score, they'd have momentum," Inskeep said. "Once we got that second goal, we found the third and the game was opened up for us."
Player of the match: Danny Aeschliman, Peoria Notre Dame, game-winning goal.
Key performers: Peoria Notre Dame — Grant Inskeep, 2 goals; Alex Garcia, assist.
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