09/02/2026
I know these are long. I’ve been trying to keep them shorter. These boys deserve all the storytelling, but sometimes a succinct recap is ideal.
But not this time.
Sullivan earned a split today against a really good Washington team. JV came out in the hot sun and created a lot of chances early on to try and push Washington out of the gate. This was the first game of their season, and the boys gave it everything they had. Jared Radford was excellent in net, and while there were glimpses of promise, the JV Eagles fell to Washington 3-0. Lots to love about this group, and there is a lot of reason for excitement.
And then the lights came on.
The Varsity boys were coming off an offensive onslaught the night before and were riding high from a nice start to the season. Washington has been one of those giants we just haven’t been able to topple. Credit to them; their program has had some really incredible teams. And we knew that tonight was no different.
Right from the start, the Jays had us on our heels. They are a well coached club who found some soft spots in the defense and were able to capitalize on a defensive mistake to go up 1-0 early. They continued hammering shots, but this defense stayed put. Brody Gawer made save after save and kept us in it.
The score would stay 1-0, and after some personnel adjustments at halftime, the Eagles turned the game into a track meet. Midway through the second half, the boys finally broke through on a corner as sophomore Dayton Head pokes it through traffic and into the back of the next to equalize. That spark set the whole field ablaze, and two minutes later, speed demon Carson Price smoked his defender to the sideline and threw up a DIME to a streaking Luke Herron, who smashed home a header on the run into the upper 90 for the lead!
3 minutes later, senior Jack Day sends a deep ball to Luke Herron once more, and Luke steps on the gas to beat the last defender and the keeper for his second goal of the night, and the dagger for Washington 😤
The defense—this time anchored by Zaiden Marler, Logan Podner, Wyatt Bullock, and Phoenix Taylor—put the clamps on a really talented Washington offense and Brody Gawer slams the door shut on a whole-squad masterclass of a soccer game. He ended the night with 11 saves and is atop the leaderboard in the St. Louis area 🔥
This is the first time in program history that Sullivan has beaten Washington. Saying that this is a special group feels woefully inadequate. Come see for yourself!
Tomorrow is a recovery day, but then we’re back here at home against another heavy hitter in class 4 Waynesville on Thursday! Kickoff is at 6pm for JV, and Varsity will follow.
Huge crowd tonight 🙏🏻 your voices and your presence are heard and felt from the sideline and the field. Thank you for showing up in such a big way! The party’s just getting started 😏
