ROXANA – The Father McGivney Catholic High School boys soccer team took on and defeated the Roxana High School Shells by a score of 7-1 Wednesday afternoon in the Class 1A Regional Semifinals.

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It took nearly 20 minutes for Father McGivney to get on the board. In the 18th minute, senior midfielder Tanner Garner put it away after a corner kick to make it 1-0 Griffins. A minute later senior forward Danial Gierer doubled their lead after he received a short cross from fellow senior forward Owen Terrell.

Sophomore midfielder Aaron Broadwater capped off the scoring in the first half as he finished his breakaway opportunity to make it 3-0.

Coming out of the break sophomore midfielder Mason Holmes got on the scoresheet with goals in the 42nd and 58th minutes.

Roxana would score a consolation goal in the 72nd minute to temporarily make it 5-1, but a goal by Terrell and Gierer’s second of the game made it 7-1 after 80 minutes.

Terrell finished with a goal and three assists on the day while Gierer had two goals and two assists.

The Griffins improved to 14-7-2 on the season and have gone 9-1-1 down the stretch since September 20th.

“We took control of the game right from the get-go,” McGivney head coach Matthew McVicar said postgame.

He was happy that his team came out and took care of business and gained a ton of confidence while doing so. He also mentioned that it was good to get the team’s playoff “jitters” out of the way so that the team can focus up for their next game.

With a winner always unfortunately has to come a loser.

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“We knew it was going to be tough,” Roxana coach James Futrell said. “Disappointed with the result today, but on the year, I am just incredibly proud of my guys.”

“It’s always hard losing your last game of the year, but unfortunately only one team doesn’t get to lose.”

The Shells have turned last season’s 3-15-1 season into distant memories. This season they ended 9-11, and Futrell couldn’t be happier about his team’s transformation and dedication.

“This is probably one of the best groups I’ve had here at Roxana,” he said.

The team only loses three seniors: Garret McBride, Ty Schmidt, and Dillon Scifres. While they will all be missed, the future is looking bright for Roxana’s program.

Futrell called his three seniors “unbelievably talented, committed, and disciplined.”

While their season is over, McGivney’s is not. They still have plenty worth fighting for.

Staunton (10-1-1) beat Lebanon 1-0 Wednesday night to earn their spot in the Regional Finals. This will be the first meeting between the Bulldogs and Griffins this season.

That game will kick off at 4 p.m. this Friday, October 14th at Roxana.

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