Tipp City Soccer - State Champions!

Tipp City Soccer - State Champions!

David meet Goliath.

David slay Goliath.

The state’s top-ranked and unbeaten Revere Minutemen found out that the Tippecanoe boys soccer team didn’t need a sword to put Goliath away. The fact is, they were on a mission and they didn’t care if nobody believed in them. They knew they could shock the soccer world.

Behind a pair of goals from Landon Haas and Colin Turner, the Red Devils dominated the Minutemen. Their defense, along with keeper Michael Jergens, recorded their 14th shutout of the season en route to the 2-0 victory over Revere to claim the 2023 OHSAA Division Two state championship.

It was Tipp’s second soccer state title in the last five years. They last won the gold in 2019.

“We felt good about the game plan and coach (Ian) Porto does a good job creating the scouting report and motivating the guys. We felt so good about that going into the game,” Tipp head coach Joel Slyman said. “We had to stop their stud up top and the guys bought into it. When we scored, we put them on their heels and shocked them a little bit.”

“We were the better team today, and the guys could sense that in the first ten minutes, that we could hang with these guys and we could beat them.”

Tipp really was in control the whole day, and even though Revere had a few shots against Jergens, the Red Devils defense controlled the pace of the game.

“We were in control and felt good about it, and that first goal we scored really boosted it,” Slyman added.

Tipp scored the opening goal just ten minutes into the game, and it was eerily similar to the game winner against Watterson from the same foot. Haas sailed one from 25 yards out and perfectly placed it into the corner of the net, giving Tipp a 1-0 lead.

The Red Devils added some insurance with 14:44 left in the game to secure the momentum and take the wind out of the sails of the Revere players.

“Landon really ripped that shot, it was a missile,” Slyman said about the first goal. The Tipp coach also praised the work of Turner and Caleb Ransom working to add the insurance goal.

“The second goal was great for us also,” he said. “It was a Colin Turner move, he was there for the dirty goal. Caleb went down the endline and Colin put himself into a beautiful spot and Caleb got it to him. It was exactly how we drew it up.”

“The second goal took them out of the game, we were playing well and had the energy. When that second goal went in, you could feel them deflate.”

Slyman also praised the defensive effort of the Red Devils, a group who has been there all season to play a key factor in the success they have enjoyed.

“Caden (Turner) steps up every night and guards the best guy on the other team and loves it,” the Tipp coach said. “He seizes that moment and AJ Jergens did a heck of a job blocking shots and clearing it.” He also praised Landon Luginbuhl for his job of clearing out the ball and protecting Jergens in the net.”

For Slyman, he was also part of the 2019 state championship team and admits this one feels different.

“The first one was a feeling of just being there and it was the first-ever state championship game our program has ever been to, you kind of forget the moment,” he said. “Tonight, we took it as it was just another game, and we are so proud of the guys.”

Slyman also thanked another key part of this team's success, the Tipp community, as they have supported this group all the way to Columbus.

“There was about a minute and a half left and I looked into the stands and I saw my own family, but I also saw thousands of Tipp people and I got emotional,” he said. “The support was amazing and the parade home… there were so many people lined up and it gives you goosebumps to know the community loves their schools.”