There was accomplishment, and there was disappointment. And if the latter came at the end of Cathedral High School’s 2024 boys soccer season, that doesn’t overshadow all that came before. This was a good team, and it will be remembered that way. “We accomplished a lot of things we set out to do,” Joel Russell said. The Irish spent Russell’s fifth season as head coach as one of Indiana’s top programs, achieving multiple huge victories and standout performances before a heartbreaking loss in the postseason. “Ultimately we were we were measuring this team's success by how well we did in the playoffs,” Russell said. The Irish, who finished the 2024 season 14-4-2 and No. 8 in the Indiana Soccer Coaches Association Class 3A rankings, won two games in the Section 10, Class 3A tournament before losing the title game to Lawrence North 1-1 on the ninth penalty kick. “We outshot them 25 to 5, but with soccer, a break happens here or there and the time starts ticking real fast if you're on the wrong side of it,” Russell said. “For us, it was kind of the stars didn't align our way that night.” The Irish beat Shortridge 3-0 in the first round of the sectional and Lawrence Central 3-0 in the sectional semifinal. “I still feel like what we had in that locker room could've competed and actually won a state title,” Russell said. “It just didn't bounce our way. We ran up to a good, energetic, well-coached, organized Lawrence North in the sectional final. “We had a chance to go up 2-0 on them. They countered and scored, and we lost on the ninth penalty kick. It was just a tough, tough way to end the season. From a regular-season perspective, we did some good things throughout the year. We beat some quality teams.” The Irish in 2024 were led by a core of strong seniors including All-State attacker Calvin Kurzawa, All-State goaltender Jett Wallmeier, All-District defender Gavin Bateman and defenders Sawyer Sheetz, Paul Arthur and Ronan Delaney. Wallmeier and Kurzawa earned first-team All-District honors, with Kurzawa finishing the season with 28 goals and 12 assists, “I’ve gotten to know some tremendous families that have come to Cathedral,” Russell said. “This is the first class of kids that I talked to about coming to Cathedral and I’m going to miss them. They’re going to leave a big hole. We're obviously going to have some shoes to fill next year. “Now it's looking at the legacy that they left, and how do we continue to build on that.” Junior Quinn Bateman and longtime starter junior Jordan Wedges also were key, along with sophomores Michael Bonaccorsi and Karol Molina-Gomez. Bonaccorsi was a second-team All-District selection. “I think we're going to have the best midfield in the state of Indiana by far next year with Quinn Bateman, Jordan Wedges and Michael Bonaccorsi,” Russell said. “I thought that was the best center of midfield in the state this year. We've got some really good pieces coming back. “We're going to play disciplined defense and we're going to work hard and we're going to play together as a team.” The Irish’s four losses in 2024 came with key players sick or injured. “That being said, I think we could have competed with guys we had, I still felt like that team was good enough to go,” he said. “It was just a tough pill to swallow.” The postseason loss marked the first time in Russell’s tenure as coach the Irish did not advance a round further in the postseason than they had advanced the season before. The Irish after winning a sectional title in Russell’s second season in 2021 won a regional title in 2022 and lost in the Class 3A state-title game in 2023. “It was humbling from my perspective and obviously disappointing,” he said. “But from a program perspective, I like what we have. I really think continuity of our coaching staff has been great. I'd stack our coaching staff up with any program. “I always want to leave something better than I found it, and I think the program is better. I'm not done, and I still want to hang a banner up. There is some unfinished business, and I still think the program is taking the steps we need to take to be a state champion. “We feel like we left too much on the field this year. That being said, we still want to enjoy the journey enjoy building the program.” And Russell said the program undoubtedly remains strong, with a future as bright as its past. “We're just continuing to build the program,” Russell said. “When I look at different metrics about the program, I like what I see. There's more, ‘soccer players’ in school. There's more interest in our camp in the summer. There's more interest in the program itself. “All of those things are good, and just sometimes the end product in a playoff is not what you want.”