TOWN AND COUNTRY — The St. Dominic High boys soccer team got a measure of payback on Saturday morning.
Taking on host Westminster Christian in the title game of the Metro League Tournament, the visiting Crusaders struck early and dominated in a 5-0 victory. St. Dominic improved to 4-0 to start the season and also avenged a string of losses to the Wildcats.
"In my career, we've never beaten them, so today definitely meant a little more for us,'' said Crusaders senior Johnny Petruso, who led St. Dominic with a pair of goals. "Coming in, we talked about getting off to a strong start and making things difficult on them. And that's what we did. We got a great team effort — everybody played well — and we ended up with a good win.
"It's a long season and we know we still have a lot of work to do, but we're definitely happy with our strong start."
"We have a talented group, a veteran group led by a bunch of juniors and seniors,'' the coach said. "It's a fun group to work with because these guys have a real motivation about them. They enjoy each other and they enjoy working hard. We're excited about their potential and really looking forward to seeing what this group can accomplish."
The Crusaders (4-0) struck for three goals in the first half Saturday. Midway through the half, St. Dominic grabbed the lead when senior Charlie Lafata took a pass from Gavin Kleeschulte and scored on a far-corner shot after making a pretty cutback move to beat the last Westminster defender.
Six or so minutes later, Petruso made it 2-0 with a similar-looking shot to the far corner. Again, Kleeschulte had the assist.
"Honestly, I was looking to make a pass,'' Petruso admitted. "But when things opened up, I took the shot and scored."
Westminster's Landon Ingram had his team's best first-half chance after winning a challenge at midfield and racing toward the penalty area. But his final touch was too strong, allowing St. Dominic keeper Luke Pashia to clear the ball from danger.
The Crusaders' Conor Meyers had a string of three straight chances late in the half. His first, from a tough angle, was knocked away by Westminster goalie Jacob Stinebaker, who came up with a diving stop on another quality Meyers' chance with about 10 1/2 minutes to play before halftime.
Later in the half, after getting a pass from Cole Stephens, Meyers pushed a shot by the far post.
St. Dominic added to its lead just before halftime when Chase Morgan knocked in a Brad Greco corner kick.
"They were coming at us wave after wave,'' Westminster coach Dan Legters said. "They're a well-coached team, a veteran team that plays its style of soccer well. They got it rolling today and honestly, we're still trying to put a few things together. We see them again later in the season (Oct. 17 at St. Dominic) and hopefully we'll have things a little more sorted out.
"We graduated six guys and 54 goals from last season, so we need a little more time to get things sorted out. But we'll learn from today and we'll be better because of it."
After halftime, St. Dominic added a couple of more goals. Petruso picked up his fifth of the young season when he converted a breakaway pass from Jake Kuenne midway through the half. Then, with about 3 1/2 minutes left, Lucas Sottile ran onto a ball in the box and scored with a sliding shot for the 5-0 final.
Pashia, a sophomore, picked up the shutout.
It was the first loss of the season for Westminster Christian (2-1), the Class 2 state champion last season. This season, the Wildcats will compete in Class 3.
"We got pushed today and I think that's a good thing,'' Legters said. "Now we get to see how these guys respond."
Metro League Tournament, championship: St. Dominic 5, Westminster 0
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St. Dominic's Johnny Petruso (right) is congratulated by Gavin Kleeschulte after scoring a goal during the Metro League Boys Soccer Tournament championship against Westminster on Saturday, September 7, 2024 at Westminster Christian Academy in Town and Country, Mo. Paul Kopsky | Special to