Tippecanoe defeats Revere to capture Ohio boys soccer Division II state title behind special goal by Landon Haas
COLUMBUS, Ohio - It has been a whirlwind few weeks for Tippecanoe junior midfielder Landon Haas.
Just three weeks ago, Haas and his family found out that his father had cancer. But while at a doctor's appointment with his father, Haas could see Historic Crew Stadium in the distance and thought about Saturday's Division II championship game, a game won 2-0 by Tippacanoe over Revere.
"We sat in the Ohio State hospital looking down at the stadium talking about how nice it would be to play here and to bring the crowd out," Haas said. "It was just amazing to me."
With his father in attendance, Haas nailed a 35-yarder over the head of Revere goalkeeper Jake Nations and into the upper right side of the net to give the Red Devils a 1-0 lead.
The goal was special for Haas not only for his father but because the relationship between Haas and the Red Devils' soccer team goes back to before he was a player, as he was the ball boy for the 2019 state championship team and the 2020 state runner-up.
"It was really emotional, it was for my teammates and my dad of course," Haas said. "Just to score in the state championship has always been a dream. Seeing the (2019 and 2020 teams) play, I always wanted to be here and we did it."
Tippecanoe's Landon Haas celebrates during the 2023 Division II state championship game on November 11. Photo Credit: Jeff Harwell
Jeff Harwell, SBLive Sports
Tippecanoe added an insurance goal in the 66th minute, as Caleb Ransom spun and lost a defender to the right of the goal and passed to Colin Turner, who slid the ball into the net with his right root.
"That has always kind of been my bread and butter, I had a lot of assists like that this season," Ransom said. "It's a lot of take the ball down the line and get it across. It's just picking your head up and picking someone out and Colin Turner was there and he did what he needed to do in that situation."
Each team entered the game having given up just one goal apiece in the postseason, but getting an early goal gave the Red Devils the confidence they needed.
"We talked about it before the game that we need to get it going early and make them sit back a little bit on their heels," Haas said. "It felt like our ball movement was pretty decent at the beginning of the game. Seeing the keeper off his line a little bit and finding that shot was what we needed. And we rode that throughout the rest of the game.
The win gives the Red Devils their second state championship, with the other coming in 2019. Tippecanoe won this year's state championship under first-year head coach Joel Slyman, who was on the staff prior to taking the head coaching job.
"Our team, I have so much love for and they worked so hard," Slyman said. "They deserve it. They earned a state championship. It's hard to comprehend and say it out loud and it being true, but credit to these guys. What a ride."
