Paideia Boys Defeat Aquinas, Advance to State Semis

Tim Brooks and Coleman Parks scored each scored in the second half as  outlasted visiting Aquinas 2-0 Saturday night in the Class A boys state soccer quarterfinals.

Paideia (17-1) knocked off their fellow No. 1 seed in front of a vocal home crowd at Python Park in Avondale Estates, securing a Final Four berth and drawing one step closer to uncharted territory: a state championship.

The Pythons had been absent from the second round of the playoffs since 2008, but advanced to the semis by dominating possessions against traditional powerhouse Aquinas. The Fighting Irish only managed one shot on frame.

“I thought it was our goals that really changed the game,” said Paideia head coach Eric Thomas. “I thought if we scored on [Aquinas], then we can possess the ball nicely and frustrate them.”

After taking the lead, Paideia managed to melt the clock and largely keep the ball away from the Irish. The Pythons struck first just minutes into the second half, as Brooks took an artfully placed pass from Robert Heintz and headed it into the goal to break the scoreless tie.

“That was a beautiful play,” Thomas said. “Robert Heintz served the ball really well which allowed [Brooks] to move into the space and head the ball.”

At the 22:30 mark, Parks essentially put the game away by taking advantage of a tired Aquinas defense with a wide-open shot to make it 2-0. It was Parks’ eighth goal of the year, and Brooks’ 11th. Paideia threatened to score several times in the first half, getting a golden opportunity on a Parks shot that was headed away off the goal line by an Aquinas defender.

Besides having to deal with the stout Paideia defense, Aquinas had to play a man down halfway through the second half due to cards. Scoring chances were few for Aquinas down the stretch with a shorthanded attack. Sean Thomas and Matt Moses had the best chances for the Irish, but both of their attempts sailed tries over the crossbar in the final five minutes with a two-goal deficit.

Paideia reserve Colin Shaw, who made his first start at goalkeeper, filled in admirably for Ben Katz, who was sidelined with a broken ankle he suffered in Wednesday’s win over Pacelli.  Also hurting was Brooks, who played with eight stitches in his head from a collision on Wednesday which forced him out of the rest of the match.

Aquinas (15-3), out of Augusta, and Paideia are no strangers when it comes playoff time.

“They’re always good,” Thomas said. “They’ve won [state] before, and we haven’t. They beat us in the playoffs a few years ago at their place, so it was nice to sort of avenge that loss.”

Aquinas, which won what was then known as the Class A/AA playoffs in 2005, took out Paideia in the 2006 second round.

The Pythons will host Walker, a 2-0 winner over Brookstone on Saturday, on Wednesday for a berth in the state title game. Paideia defeated Walker, of Region 3-A, 1-0 back on Feb. 18.