After knocking off Bishop Watterson 2-1 in double overtime on Wednesday, Tippecanoe faces the No. 1 team in the state on Saturday. The Red Devils are in the state title game for the 3rd time in the last 5 years and will look to capture their 2nd state championship.
However, Richfield Revere poses the toughest test to date.
The Schedule
Yes, you’re reading that image correctly. Revere is undefeated this season. Only that 2-game tie streak late in the regular season keeps the Minutemen from being perfect. One of those ties was against the defending state runner-up, Bexley. The other was to Kent Roosevelt, a Div 1 program that lost in the district semifinal to Northeast 2 district champion North Canton Hoover.
Like Tipp’s last opponent, Bishop Watterson, Revere played a much tougher schedule than the Red Devils did. Their opponents finished with a combined record of 260-138-33 (62.73%) compared to Tipp’s opponents, which went 200-187-42 (49.02%).
Revere has faced 17 opponents that finished the season with at least 10 wins. The Minutemen went 16-0-1 against them, averaging 3.35 goals scored and 0.65 goals against in those games. By comparison, Tipp has faced 10 such opponents, going 8-1-1 and averaging 3.1 goals scored and 0.90 goals against.
Offense
Unlike Bishop Watterson, Revere has a dangerous scoring capability, averaging 3.7 goals per game. For reference, their 81 goals scored so far this season would rank 13th in Tipp program history. If they were to score 5 goals on Saturday, as they did in the Regional Semifinal against Maumee’s stout defense (more on that later), they would have enough goals to rank 6th in Tipp program history.
Tipp faced 3 teams this season with offenses as potent as the Minutemen: Indian Hill (80 goals), Jonathan Alder (80), and Butler (81). The Red Devils went 2-0-1 in those 3 games, allowing 2 goals.
Revere didn’t necessarily light it up in many games — they scored 10 goals against 1-17-0 Holy Name and 8 goals against 6-9-3 Tallmadge — but they were consistent all season. They scored 3 or more goals 13 times. By comparison, Tipp scored at least 3 goals in 16 of 23 games but also had more high-scoring games with 8 games of at least 8 goals.
Defense
As one would expect of a team playing for the state title, Revere features a great defense. They’ve surrendered just 14 goals in 22 games (0.64 per game) with 12 shutouts.
Yes, Tipp has given up fewer goals (11), but as noted above, Revere has faced a tougher schedule. In fact, Revere opponents have scored 315 more combined goals than Tipp opponents this season. Tipp faced 2 teams (Greenville and Urbana) that combined for just 13 goals all season.
Revere faced 3 opposing offenses similar to Tipp’s — Harvey (103 goals), Lake Catholic (110), and Maumee (120). The Minutemen went 3-0 in those games, holding those 3 teams to just 1 goal combined.
That said, Revere did give up 2 goals in a single game 4 times. Three of those were Div. 1 teams — Roosevelt in a 2-2 tie, Medina Highland, who reached the district semifinal, and Hudson who reached the regional semifinal. The 4th was Chagrin Falls Kenston, who went 11-6-1 and only scored 34 goals all season. That said, it was the 2nd game of the season.
Opponent Comparison
There are 2 schools that Revere has faced so far this postseason that compare similarly to the Red Devils: Maumee and Lake Catholic.
Revere faced Maumee in the regional semifinal a week and a half ago. Maumee entered the game undefeated with 120 goals scored (6 per game) and only 8 allowed (0.40 per game). However, the Panthers played a schedule considerably weaker than Tipp’s. Their opponents averaged just 7.1 wins (Tipp’s averaged 8.7).
Maumee faced just 6 teams that had 10 or more wins, beating all of them, but only by a combined score of 20-8. That means they averaged 3.33 goals per game against the better teams they faced. Tipp has averaged 3.1 goals in their 10 games against teams with 10 or more wins.
In the regional semifinal, Revere dominated Maumee, holding the Panthers scoreless for the first time all season and scoring 5 goals on them. That’s 38.5% of the total goals Maumee allowed all season! Maumee’s leading scorer, who led the entire state with 54 goals this season, was stymied.
Revere faced Lake Catholic in the state semifinal on Wednesday. Lake Catholic entered the game with a 19-1-0 record having scored 110 goals and allowed 11. Their schedule was slightly better than Tipp’s (their opponents averaged 9.9 wins).
Lake Catholic faced 10 teams with 10 or more wins this season (same as Tipp), going 9-1-0 against them. The difference between Lake Catholic and Maumee is their scoring output in those games against the better teams on the schedule.
The Cougars outscored those 10 teams by a combined record of 50-8! In other words, their offensive performance against the better half of their schedule was only slightly lower (5 goals per game) than it was against the lower half (6 per game). By comparison, Tipp averaged 3.1 goals per game against the 10 best teams on their schedule and an astounding 9 goals per game against the other 13 teams.
In the state semifinal, Revere scored 5 minutes into the game and 8 minutes into the 2nd half to grind out a 2-0 win. More impressively, their defense held that high-powered Lake Catholic offense in check, holding them scoreless for just the 2nd time this season. That said, Lake Catholic certainly had their chances. They outshot Revere 14 to 9 with 8 of those shots on target.
Overview
Revere is certainly no stranger to the state title game. The Minutemen won it all in 2013 and finished runner-up in 2018, 16, 11, 10, and 1995. But this year’s team is a bit of a surprise. Only 3 starters returned from last year’s 20-2-1 team that fell in the regional final. But a hallmark of good programs — just like Tipp does — they don’t rebuild, they reload. The Minutemen added 19 new players from last year’ JV squad (and one who from a high-profile club team) to the varsity roster and didn’t miss a beat.
The closest team Tipp has faced this season to Revere is Indian Hill.
Revere played a stronger schedule than Indian Hill to be sure, but the Braves had similar results, scoring 80 goals (3.81 per game) and allowing just 8 (0.38 per game). Tipp tied Indian Hill 1-1 in their early-season meeting. The thorn in Indian Hill’s side was Summit Country Day, who handed the Braves their only 2 losses. That Tipp scored a goal on Indian Hill should give them confidence as the Braves’ defense allowed just 8 all season — 6 more than Revere.
Revere plays a style of soccer that will apply defensive pressure all over the field and use the counterattack to generate offense. It’s not the same possession-oriented play that Bishop Watterson used on Wednesday, but it’s very similar to the way Tipp plays. Expect a game that goes up and down the field, back and forth as each team tries to assert dominance in transition.
Tipp will get their chances to score, and unlike Lake Catholic on Wednesday, they must capitalize on them if they want to knock off the team ranked No. 1 in the state. But the Red Devils will also be challenged defensively in a way that few teams have presented all season. Tipp has surrendered more than 1 goal in a game only once in 2023 — 3 goals in the regular season meeting with Summit Country Day — and keeper Michael Jergens will have to be at his absolute best to keep it from happening a 2nd time, especially against one of the top goal scorers in the state.
Players to Watch
- Senior forward Dylan Halm (#11) leads the Minutemen with 33 goals in addition to 10 assists. One of the top-rated players in the state with Div. 1 college interest, Halm skipped his first 3 years of high school to play for MLS Next Michigan Wolves SC but moved back to Ohio to play his senior season for Revere. He has scored a goal in all 6 tournament games so far this postseason (11 total), including hat-tricks in the first 2.
- Junior midfielder AJ Catlett (#14) has 11 goals and 26 assists. He scored the 2nd goal in the regional semifinal win over Maumee and is Halm’s main feeder.
- Senior defender Jeff Boyle (#10) has 11 goals and 8 assists. He scored the 3rd goal in the regional semifinal win over Maumee and the 1st goal in the state semifinal win over Lake Catholic.
- Junior Gavin Boltz (#7) has 8 goals and 7 assists.
- Junior goalie Jake Nations (#0) has 12 shutouts this season.