No. 3 ranked Shrine’s ‘not too passive’ play style turning in positive results

ROYAL OAK — It’s one of the first things you learn courtesy of “The Tortoise and the Hare”; slow and steady wins the race.

The saying is interpreted differently in soccer terms, but Royal Oak Shrine Catholic High School boys soccer head coach Mark Soma feels like he’s finally getting through to his No. 3 ranked squad in Division 4.

“It’s the experience, but mostly the buy-in as well,” Soma said. “They’re listening to the coaches. We didn’t always have that. We’re getting a lot of buy-in this year, and it’s translating to the field and our performance.”

What are the Knights buying into exactly? A more methodical approach to how they play on the field as opposed to being overly aggressive and sending long passes back and forth like a tennis rally.

It’s about making multiple passes, working your way up the field, and finding the open man and making the pass when needed.

“It’s knowing when to go and when to take it back and figure out what you can work with,” junior goalkeeper Sean Murphy said. “It’s a little more passive, but not too passive because it works. With high school, there’s a lot of long ball after long ball, like a kickball style. We play more tic-tac and build up.”

Murphy, a returning all-league player, headlines a Shrine back line, alongside junior Josh Mackey, junior Aidan Malloy, and sophomore Jack Rice, that’s totaled nine clean sheets this season and is one of the many reasons Shrine took a 7-9-2 regular season in 2023 and flipped the script on the entire Catholic High School League Intersectional 2, finishing 11-1-3, capturing the league title, and being ranked No. 2 in Division 4 soccer. Senior Thomas Jablonski has also contributed to the defense.

The Knights opened up their season with a quick 2-0 win over Clarkston Everest Collegiate, who finished a game back of first place in the league. Shrine and Everest would tie later on in the season, but who knew Shrine’s season-opening win would end up being the difference maker in the division?

Soma and company’s three straight wins to open the 2024 campaign against Everest, Madison Heights Bishop Foley, who eliminated Shrine from the state tournament last year, and North Muskegon, who finished 12-4-2 on the year, and is ranked No. 6 in Division 4, skyrocketed the team’s confidence.

“Starting out the year beating Everest, that’s a pretty big win because they always have a good team and are always very physical, so it was nice to beat them right out of the gate to gain some confidence,” Murphy said. “North Muskegon, that’s a good team and it was a great game we were able to pull out.”

While the back line has done its job this season, the constant attack effort led by returning all-Catholic players CJ Soma (junior) and Adam Imai (junior) has led to a Shrine offense that averages nearly four goals per game, including seven games of four or more goals. Junior Caden Whitbeck has also paced the offensive effort.

But even in a game against Hillsdale Academy, currently 10-3-3 on the year, where Shrine was missing seven players, guys like Anthony Soma (freshman), Will Bernacki (freshman) and Zander Kryzanswki (sophomore) stepped up to help force a 1-1 tie. That kind of depth and mentality has elevated Shrine to the team it is right now.

“We’re a lot more well-rounded team,” Murphy said. “We have players up top, in the middle, in the back, so that helps with just being able to trust your guy next to you.”

Shrine was unbeaten prior to its CHSL Cardinal Championship match against Detroit Cristo Rey, who bested the Knights 2-0 to win its first-ever division title.

It’s a tough loss to suffer right before the state tournament begins, but don’t be quick to call it a negative for a Shrine team that just might have needed a tally in the loss column.

“It proves we’re not invincible,” CJ Soma said. “We never really thought we were, but from our standpoint the toughest opponent we probably played was Everest and (North) Muskegon, and those two were tough. The games were always tough, but not as much as those two. Then (Detroit) Cristo Rey came in, who is really good and really high ranked.”

Shrine will host the winner of Novi Christian Academy and West Bloomfield Frankel Jewish Academy, who Shrine is 2-0 against this season and has outscored 11-0, on Oct. 15 in the district semifinals.

Prior to the state tournament, Shrine tacked on some additional achievements with CJ Soma, Imai, Whitbeck, and Mackey earning all-Catholic honors while Jablonski, Murphy, Rice and senior Jackson Poulton earned all-league honors. Senior Carmine Copp earned all-academic honors as well.

Shrine has had a tough go in districts the past few seasons, last reaching regionals in 2020, but the mindset is different for this Knights squad.

“It’s just about pulling it together and proving we’re a good team,” Murphy said. “It’s a get-back year.”

Call Staff Writer Jonathan Szczepaniak at (586) 498-1090.