Members of the Reitz Memorial soccer team celebrate after winning the 2024 Indiana Class 2A state soccer championship. Submitted photo
By John Rohlf
The Message Assistant Editor
One year after falling one game short of a state title, a veteran Reitz Memorial High School boys soccer team pitched multiple shutouts on their road to winning the Indiana Class 2A state championship.
Evansville’s Reitz Memorial (19-2-1) beat Fort Wayne Concordia Lutheran 2-0 Nov. 2 in the Class 2A state championship game in Indianapolis. The Tigers used goals from juniors Ivan Bennett and Trey Hudak and a defensive shutout to win the state title.
“We were all focused and ready to go,” Reitz Memorial senior midfielder Faurest Crafton said. “We played an excellent game. We needed our goals and we wanted to put them away early. And I think we just did that perfectly.”
Reitz Memorial Head Coach Bill Vieth believes the Tigers controlled the game throughout in their state championship game win.
“But until you score a goal and get a lead and until you make the other team change what they’re doing, it’s a tight game. And we expected a tight game,” Vieth said. “But I felt great about how we played and the opportunities to score that we created. And kind of the last month and a half, our defense has been superb.”
Reitz Memorial did not surrender a single goal in their seven postseason games, outscoring their opponents 29-0 in postseason play. Overall, the defense had 18 shutouts in 22 games.
Vieth said although the consensus would be that the Tigers are an attacking team who likes to score goals, he also credited the defense for their strong play, especially in the second half of the season.
“It just gave us a great comfort level that we’re always going to be in the game,” Vieth said. “And then if our offense can find its rhythm and click, we’re going to score some goals and give us a great chance to win the game. That’s why they say defense wins championships.”
Vieth said last year’s postseason run was a great experience for the Tigers to go through a game of that magnitude at the state championship. They fell to Mishawaka Marian 4-0 in last season’s state championship game. He said it was a benefit to return so many players from last year’s team.
Crafton said it was the team’s goal this season to win a state championship.
“I believe it all started from day one,” Crafton said. “We knew coming in that this would be our ultimate goal is to win the state final. And just the team bonding, going to dinner every week. It was like a brotherhood of family. We were so close and I think that helped us.”
Crafton said in the state championship game, the Tigers were focused and ready to go. He said they played an excellent game. They focused on putting Fort Wayne Concordia Lutheran away early. Crafton said it was an amazing feeling when the game ended and Reitz Memorial won the state championship.
“Just celebrating with my teammates, parents, fans, coaches, I mean it was all surreal and a blessing to be there,” Crafton said. “But afterwards, I mean ending my high school career that way kind of got to me. But ending it the right way was the right way to do it.”
Vieth said the Tigers were blessed with great fan support from the fan base and students at Reitz Memorial. Vieth noted the Reitz Memorial fan base was split up during the postseason run due to the success of other sports teams at Reitz Memorial.
“That is so comforting for our players to see that people care,” Vieth said. “Not only about them but about our school and our athletics programs. It’s easy to get up and play those games when you know you have people there who are cheering you on.”
Members of the Reitz Memorial soccer team were welcomed back by the school after winning the state championship. Submitted photo