Now Slyman is the head coach. And the culture Downing built, one that emphasizes teamwork and playing for each other, has carried the Red Devils (20-1-1) back to the state semifinals. Tipp, ranked No. 4 in the final state coaches poll, faces unranked Columbus Bishop Watterson at 7 p.m. Wednesday at IMPACT Stadium in Marysville. The winner faces either No. 1 Richfield Revere or No. 2 Mentor Lake Catholic in the final at 1 p.m. Saturday at Historic Crew Stadium.
“What I love about Tipp is these guys start playing with each other when they’re about 6 or 7 years old, and they keep playing with each other up until high school,” Slyman said. “The guys enjoy being around each other, they enjoy coming to practice, they enjoy playing with each other. And granted we’ve got talent, there’s no question about that, but the camaraderie amongst our guys and coaches this year is so strong, That carries you farther than people think.”
The group of 10 seniors that lead the team are led by captains Michael Jergens, Carson King and Caleb Ransom.
Jergens is the goalkeeper. He has 13 shutouts this season and a school-record 34 in his career. King is a center midfielder with 18 goals and seven assists. He is the Miami Valley League player of the year, first-team all-district and was second-team all-state last year. Ransom is a forward with 21 goals and 11 assists. He was second-team all-state last year.
The team’s leading scorer is junior Landon Haas. He first made a name for himself with a bicycle-kick goal for Metro FC in April of 2021. That goal won the award as goal of the year by U.S. Youth Soccer. Haas, a center midfielder, is still scoring goals and breaking school records. He set the season scoring record this year with 87 points (31 goals, 25 assists). He owns the career school assists record and is three goals from the single-season record of 34.
The Red Devils’ only loss was 3-1 at Cincinnati Summit Country Day on Aug. 26. The Red Devils returned the favor 2-0 in the regional final and Haas scored both goals.
“It needs to be said that we don’t just have good soccer players,” Slyman said. “We’ve got good kids that enjoy being around each other, and I think that’s why we’ve seen success. The culture that we’ve built is so strong that we just want to keep going.”
Slyman teaches in Tipp’s middle school and had all of his players in class. That helped with the transition from Downing to himself as head coach over the past two years. Downing stepped away temporarily after the 2021 season for health reasons, and Slyman and assistant Ian Porto served as co-head coaches in 2022. When Downing couldn’t come back, Slyman became the permanent head coach and Porto remained as his assistant. Slyman said Downing has been able to attend a few games.
Waynesville in 1st state semi
Scott Pinto watched his team miss opportunities and lose a 2-1 heartbreaker to Botkins in the second round of the tournament last year. Waynesville walked off the field with an 8-8-3 record.
“I told the boys last year, ‘I want you to take a moment and just remember this and let it fuel you for next year,’” he said.
That fuel created a 9-6-2 regular season against a difficult schedule. The final Division III state coaches poll on Oct. 17 makes no mention of the Spartans. Now they’ve won six straight tournament games to improve to 15-6-2. Their last four victories have come against No. 7 Cincinnati Madeira 2-0, No. 14 Dayton Christian 1-0, No. 9 Columbus Tree of Life Christian 3-2 and No. 4 Cincinnati Seven Hills 1-0. Waynesville’s most recent district title and regional appearance was 2001.
Next is No. 1 Worthington Christian in the state semifinal at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Doug Adams Stadium in Xenia. The winner meets the winner of No. 8 Ottoville and unranked Willoughby Andrews Osborne in the final at 7 p.m. Saturday at Historic Crew Stadium in Columbus.
Pinto’s team isn’t celebrating anything. They enjoy winning, but they keep it to themselves. After winning the regional on Saturday in Dayton, Pinto said the only sounds on the bus ride home were players talking.
“In past years, if we would have won regionals, they would have tore the bus apart on the way home because they would have been so excited,” Pinto said. “This group is just very, very put together. They’re intelligent, they’re calm, a lot of introverts and unlike anything that I’ve ever coached at Waynesville. They’re a special group.”
The Spartans are led by a 12-man junior class, senior starter Adam Papanek, freshman Carson Hale in goal and sophomore midfielder/striker Nick Feldhaus, who leads the team with 66 points (25 goals, 16 assists). Junior forward Noah Kazmierski is next in scoring with 18 goals and 17 assists and junior Wade Von Handorf has 18 goals. Papanek, Von Handorf and junior A.J. Turkelson serve as captains.
Pinto says this team’s ability to share the ball makes it go. The top three in assists in the Southwestern Buckeye League (Kazmierski, Feldhaus, Celtan Walton) are Spartans. Pinto said controlling the ball more in the midfield and improved defense have worked in a complementary way to fuel the tournament run.
“The team collectively works together, and and that’s on and off the pitch,” Pinto said. “I don’t have individual cliques within the group, which is nice. They hang out and it started in June when the junior class was inviting freshmen to come over to their houses for pool parties and stuff like that.”
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