INDIANAPOLIS — Brotherhood. That, more than the lights-out defense and electrifying attack, is what defines the 2024 Covenant Christian boys soccer team. Whereas past groups have had really good talent, they haven’t been a collective unit, senior Josiah Swearingen observed. This year, they put brotherhood above everything else and focused on cultivating chemistry, trusting everything would fall into place from there.

It was a perfect mentality for the top-ranked Warriors, who completed a near-perfect season with a perfect finish, defeating No. 5 Greenwood Christian Academy, 4-0, in the Class A state championship game.

It’s the first state championship in program history for CC, which finishes the season 19-1-1.

“We’ve dreamt about this all season,” senior Caleb McCrory said. “Since August 1, we’ve been saying we’re going to be playing here on Nov. 1.”

Friday’s finale was the final chapter to a truly dominating campaign.

Covenant Christian out-scored its opponents 90-10 (trailed for only 12-14 minutes the entire season), notable posting wins over GCA, Bishop Chatard, Cardinal Ritter (twice) and Speedway. Its loss came in penalties etc. defending 3A runner-up Cathedral in the City semifinals. Its tie was against 2A power Park Tudor in the regular-season final.

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“Our coaches have believed in us since the beginning of the season,” said senior midfielder Zachary Jackson, the Mental Attitude Award recipient. “We couldn’t have done this without the full team’s effort and I’m proud of each and every one of them for the effort the put in.”

Leading the way this season were the team’s four seniors, McCrory, Jackson, Swearingen and Logan Thom. That quartet endured a four-win season as freshmen, then doubled that total but lost to Southwestern (Shelbyville) in the regional semifinals as sophomores.

They took another big step in 2023, securing the program’s first winning season (11-8-1) since 2018, but were ousted from regionals by GCA.

Through the disappointment and heartbreak, they learned to play together and continued growing closer as a team, McCrory observed.

“They never stopped working,” coach Josh Brown said proudly.

“This is just a very solid team,” he continued. “We had two really talented players last year and we kind of sat back and watched them a bit. This group is very cohesive, they shared the ball … and that’s what set them apart. They just play for each other and with each other. “

The sour finish to last season was fresh on the minds of those wearing green Friday night. And after allowing that game to be decided in penalties, Covenant Christian left nothing to chance with a state championship on the line.

Following a brief feeling out period, the Warriors began applying pressure more steadily, forcing a massive save by GCA goalkeeper Preston Van Til before McCrory initiated the first-half onslaught with a goal assist by Ephraim Brock.

“I had a friend say he put $20 on me to score the first goal, so I just had to do it for him,” McCrory smiled.

The opening salvo was a harbinger of things to come.

A few minutes later, Nathan Afolayan slipped a pass up to junior William Doan, who buried the shot from point-blank range. And then Brock picked up his 13th goal of the season before Doan and McCrory both added their second goals of the night, effectively putting the game out of reach before halftime.

GCA had one high-danger opportunity scoring through the first 40 minutes — an odd-angle shot on net that forced an excellent save by Owen Hitchcock — but the rest was dominated by Covenant Christian.

“We wanted to put pressure on them right away and just break them down,” Jackson said.

Covenant’s attack dominated headlines in the first half. Its defense stole the show in the second, maintaining its high-level of play even as the chances of a miraculous comeback continued fading. Passing lanes into the attacking end were clogged and any time GCA managed to wedge the ball into box, its attacker was quickly swallowed up in green jerseys.

Ending the season with their 13th shutout was of the utmost importance to the CC defense, Brown said, and they carried that chip on their shoulder through the finish.

“We’ve just been working together on defense,” Swearingen said. “We make sure we’re a collective unit, we talk throughout everything and we’ve really grown. We know how each other plays, so we’re able to play off each other really well.”

On the other side, Friday’s loss brings a disappointing end to an otherwise outstanding for Greenwood Christian (14-5-2). Under the direction of first-year coach Kefil Tonouewa, they scored a signature win over Cardinal Ritter during the regular season, then secured their second finals berth in program history with a 17-1 goal differential through six tournament games (five shutouts).

“I know (our players) wanted to go all the way and win, but hey, this is a lesson and we need to learn from it,” said Tonouewa, who graduates only two seniors (Van Til and forward Caden Camden).

“(Those seniors), they meant a lot,” he continued. “They are great leaders and they were there sharpening the underclassmen. It was a beautiful thing to see. They were the leaders on the field and that’s all you can ask for as a coach.”

Follow Brian Haenchen on Twitter at @Brian_Haenchen.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: IHSAA boys soccer: Covenant Christian wins first state championship