The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Rockets don’t take success for granted
Every soccer program aspires to win a district title and more.
For the Rockets? They’ve been around the block before — 30 times, to be exact.
On Oct. 27, Bay (16-1-2) topped Rocky River to advance to a Division II, Region 6 semifinal, where it will face Lexington at Wooster High School at 7 p.m. Oct. 31.
The district title was the seventh straight for the Rockets and 30th in program history. After the game, Bay coach Bobby Dougherty talked about not taking these titles for granted.
“We talk about it all the time,” Dougherty said. “The ghosts that are here, the guys who have gone
through the program before them. I’m very cognizant of all the people who
have built this. We’re fortunate enough to be around it.”
Bay is a team that’s expected to compete for a state title every year. That standard can be a burden for some, but the Rockets take it in stride.
They are led by senior Cade Gergye and junior Kyle Cusimano, a duo that’s combined for 162 points.
But the defense has been their rock, too, allowing 14 total goals.
The success can be easy to take for granted, especially for a senior who doesn’t know the feeling of losing before the regionals.
But Gergye lives in the moment.
“It means a lot to have a program like this that keeps making long runs in the playoffs,” Gergye said. “The hard work definitely pays off.”
The win over the Pirates also marked the eighthstraight year they knocked them out the playoffs.
“We’ve been on the lucky end of it for a while,” Dougherty said. “I say it all the time, in the playoffs, I’d much rather be lucky than good.”
Bay has done it with seven athletes who are sophomores and younger. Dougherty said they shouldn’t be this comfortable, but they are.
“They don’t get rattled,” he added.
Bay’s “Band of Brothers” program has been around for 49 years with only had four head coaches during that span. The Rockets’ last state championship was in 1993.
Dougherty is enjoying the ride, however long it may last.
“I’m just lucky enough to steer the ship for a while,” Dougherty said. “I always tell the boys that I hope when I leave it’s better than when I got here. There are icons in this program that have built this. I’m just lucky to be around it. I’ve got the greatest job ever.”