Truer words couldn’t be said about the Cardinal Mooney boys soccer program following the Cardinals’ match Saturday afternoon.

The Mooney defensive effort has been completely unblemished throughout the team’s playoff run, but what faced them on Saturday was a strong South Range team that came into this fall off of a trip to the state semifinal last season.

The teams are quite familiar with each other, with the Cardinals and Raiders drawing, 1-1, at Raiders Stadium back on Sept. 12.

This time, however, in the Division III, Region 9 championship game, Cardinal Mooney was victorious with a 3-0 shutout over South Range, walking away with its first regional championship trophy since 2005.

Correspondent photo / Robert Hayes Mooney senior Justin Durkin (left) and South Range junior Lee Bowman (right) battle for possession midair during the Division III regional semifinal at South Range.

Cardinals coach Matthew Britton was almost in disbelief following the win.

“It really hasn’t sunk in yet,” he said. “This is an incredible feeling, I just can’t wait to get to the locker room and share it with the boys.”

Mooney senior Brian Philibin scored the first goal midway through the first half off an assist by junior Savvas Pizanias.

“I think that was a real momentum changer,” Philibin said. “I personally think that whoever scored first was going to win this game, and we went out and took care of business.

“I’m very proud of the boys and what we have accomplished.”

The victory over the Raiders marks the sixth straight clean sheet for Mooney, which hasn’t given up a goal since Oct. 17 at Crestview.

“Since day one, we’ve really pounded the notion of individual defending,” Philibin said. “If everyone on the field is defending the best they can, then it’s going to be hard to score on us. I think we’ve proved that through our run so far.”

Fellow senior Justin Durkin scored Mooney’s second goal before halftime, and has enjoyed the journey so far.

“We’ve all been through ups and downs this year as a team and individually, but the ability to pick each other back up, it’s this family aspect we bring every day, it shows on the field, it’s the real difference for us,” he said.

Pizanias scored the final nail in the coffin late in the second half, and Mooney officially won its sixth match in a row by a margin of three or more goals. So far, Cardinal Mooney has outscored its opponents, 28-0, in tournament play.

Freshman goalkeeper Aidan Markey recorded four saves. Senior Nick Spirko and sophomore Christopher Philibin each tallied an assist.

South Range (13-6-2) graduates six seniors, but first-year coach Zach Stamp enjoyed his time with his senior class.

“My seniors were the backbone of this team,” he said. “Luke McConnell, Kaleb Sepe, Logan Weaver, Alex Kuizor, Eli Taylor and Tom Landry set the tone for the season.

“They were incredible throughout the season, they just helped us build our youth up and hopefully we’ll be able to make these runs next year because of them.”

Mooney (15-2-4) moves on to a state semifinal on Wednesday against Toledo Ottawa Hills (15-5-1) at 7 p.m. at Mansfield High School.

Britton is speechless going into next week.

“Words can’t describe how excited I am,” he said. “I’m just so happy for these boys, it’s an incredible moment.”