LAFAYETTE — Faith Christian boys soccer trailed Central Catholic 3-0 with only 24 minutes and eight seconds to spare in the IHSAA Class 1A, Sectional 37 Championship game Saturday, Oct. 10. The door was closing in on the Eagles.
But miraculously, that door swung wide open. Faith Christian completed an improbable comeback, scoring four goals in the final 20 minutes to capture its third consecutive sectional championship in a 4-0 win over the Knights.
Given the way in which the Eagles (15-2) won, this sectional felt a little sweeter than the last two. It marks a pivotal accomplishment for a program that has crept into the upper echelon of Class 1A over the last few years.
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“These guys have done the work when nobody was looking,” head coach Kevin Johns said. “They put in time, they busted their butts, they’ve worked on their dribbling skills. And so what it means is, I’ve got a culture and a group of guys who are just willing to fight and scrap and lead for each other.
“I think that’s probably what I’m most proud of.”
Central Catholic (14-5) initially took hold of the lead thanks to freshman Andrew Miller at the 18:21 mark of the first half, who settled a long pass and quickly drilled a shot past goalkeeper Calvin Smitley. Nine minutes later, sophomore Ismael Robledo sent a ball in the vicinity of senior Gary Collier, but Faith Christian sophomore Jayden Grandlienard’s header attempt resulted in an own goal.
Coupled with Knights’ goalie Keegan McCarter making a huge save on a penalty kick to end the first half and sophomore Jackson Schneidt scoring on his penalty shot in the second, the lead was comfortable for Central Catholic.
Johns assured his team that they were doing the right thing, and eventually things would all fall into place. Even into the second half, he started to feel like it wasn’t going to happen. But the first domino fell for the Eagles with 20:07 left as senior Darius Livingston scored their first goal to cut it to 4-1.
“He is, first and foremost, a basketball player who decided that he’d be willing to humor me and play some soccer back ages ago,” Johns said of Livingston. “He’s developed into a legit number nine, just a great attacking threat … he’s been very clinical when he gets chances in the box. I couldn’t be more proud of him.”
Not even two minutes later, senior Christian Carlson got on the board by making a huge goal. Typically a center back, he was moved up into the midfield in the second half and helped the Eagles add pressure throughout it.
Carlson ended up playing a hand in three of Faith Christian’s four goals in the comeback, becoming a pivotal piece of the momentum shift. There was doubt setting in for Carlson at halftime, but the energy he provided helped carry the Eagles through to the victory.
“Personally no, I wasn’t confident. The team was pretty confident,” Carlson said. “The whole time, throughout the whole game, I was just praying to God to give us strength, let us win, and He came through.”
Once Faith Christian tied it 3-3 with a header with 13:50 to go, it was evident that the tide was turning. As it passed the ball in from out of bounds four minutes later, the comeback was complete.
2ND, 9:23: Faith Christian 4, Central Catholic 3
The Eagles have taken the lead. Mercer Herron completes the turnaround and the clock is ticking for the Knights. pic.twitter.com/ZcEcL31ZrU
— Chase Gemes (@chasegemes) October 10, 2026
McCarter dove to block the ball and get it away from Eagle attackers on the final score, but the ball instead knocked off freshman Mercer Herron and rolled its way into the net, despite the best efforts of Knights defenders to prevent the inevitable from happening.
In a matter of 11 minutes, the entire outcome flipped on a dime.
“I’m glad that it worked out for the guys to get a win in a game like this,” Johns said. “They did everything in their power to get there, and I’m just glad it happened for them.”
The Eagles have 10 senior returners from last year’s sectional championship team. This class has grown together and been in many situations like this before, which helped them stay poised even with the odds stacked against them.
“Especially our senior class, we’ve been playing together since middle school,” Livingston said of the second-half turnaround. “I know we trust each other a lot and we never really gave up. So I just think experience and being able to trust each other.”
With a gritty win over a Central Catholic team that made strides with an eight-game improvement from last season, it gives Faith Christian a boost of momentum heading into regionals. The Eagles made it to the regional championship in a 2-1 loss to Covenant Christian in 2025.
This time, they hope to make it even further. They will play in a regional semifinal this Thursday, Oct. 15 at Carroll, who beat Tri-Central, 2-0, in its own sectional final Saturday.
Chase Gemes covers high school sports and Purdue women’s basketball for the Journal & Courier. He can be reached at [email protected].
This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: Faith Christian boys soccer wins third consecutive sectional in comeback