LAKE ST. LOUIS — On October 10, St. Dominic slipped by visiting CBC by one goal. In a rematch Wednesday at Liberty High, the Crusaders and Cadets were still scoreless at halftime of their semifinal game of the St. ÑÇÖÞÎÞÂë Champions League.
But the Crusaders blew it open after that, rolling to a 6-0 victory.
St. Dominic, ranked No. 2 among large schools in Post-Dispatch boys soccer rankings, improved to 15-2-1 and advanced to take on No. 1 De Smet at 7 p.m. Saturday in the St. ÑÇÖÞÎÞÂë Champions League title game at the Creve Coeur Soccer Complex.
De Smet (14-3-1) got by Liberty in the earlier semifinal, winning 4-3 in penalty kicks.
On September 30, De Smet beat visiting St. Dominic 1-0.
"It should be a great game and that's what I think we were looking for when we set up the Champions League," St. Dominic coach Greg Koeller said. "Both teams are having great seasons and I know our guys are looking forward to seeing them again."
Charlie Lafata, a Crusaders senior who earned second-team All-Metro honors last year as a junior, said his team has been excited about the Champions League since before the season started.
"We knew it was going to be a challenge and we're excited to get to this point," he said. "We know how good De Smet is, but as long as we keep working hard, we feel like we'll be ready for them."
In the Wednesday rematch with CBC (10-10-1), St. Dominic was on the front foot from the start but the first half ended 0-0.
"We expected a battle, especially after last time," Lafata said, noting St. Dominic's 1-0 win a week before. "I think we started off a little slow in the first half, but then we got things rolling."
The Crusaders' Mason Phillips helped get his team going with a steal in the midfield early in the second half. He played the ball toward the middle for top scorer Johnny Petruso, who made a dummy run that allowed Lafata to break in alone and score the night's first goal.
St. Dominic added to its lead midway through the half as a corner kick from Petruso was headed in by Chase Morgan.
Trailing 2-0, CBC's Carter Griffin Horst created a solid chance with about 11 minutes to play, but his short-side shot was handled by St. Dominic sophomore goalkeeper Luke Pashia, who recorded his ninth shutout of the season.
The game got ugly late as St. Dominic pulled away. Lafata made it 3-0 when he scored off a pretty give-and-go with Petruso. The lead went to 4-0 when Conor Meyers finished off a pass from Gavin Kleeschulte.
Petruso, who leads the Crusaders attack this season with 20 goals and 12 assists, closed out the scoring with two late breakaway goals. Maxwell Mueller assisted on the first and Morgan had the assist on the Crusaders' sixth goal of the night.
"We have a pretty special group here,'' Koeller said. "It's a close-knit group with a special knack about it. We're getting strong contributions from guys up and down the lineup and also from guys coming off the bench. We've set some goals for ourselves and these guys are working hard to reach those goals. And they're really a fun group to work with."
While giving credit to St. Dominic, CBC coach Terry Michler called the loss "embarrassing."
It was the third time the Cadets allowed six goals in a loss this season.
"They're very good,'' he said of the Crusaders. "In a game like that, the first goal's going to make a huge difference. They got it and that was the game. We knew what they were capable of and it's disappointing that we didn't respond better.
"We came in with a chance to play in a championship game and we failed to show up. ... I'm an honest guy and we just got our butts kicked, plain and simple."
St. ÑÇÖÞÎÞÂë High School Champions League, semifinal: St. Dominic 6, CBC 0
"We knew it was going to be a challenge and we're excited to get to this point," St. Dominic's Charlie Lafata said.
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St. Dominic midfielder Charlie Lafata (left) moves the ball as CBC players Cole Beck (center) and Nolan Burcke move in. St. Dominic played CBC in a semifinal game of the St. ÑÇÖÞÎÞÂë Champions League soccer tournament at Liberty High School in Lake St. ÑÇÖÞÎÞÂë on October 16, 2024. Photo by Tim Vizer