ATLANTA--St. Pius X and Lakeside High Schools played to a scoreless double overtime tie to share the class AAA boys soccer championship on Friday, May 9.

For St. Pius, which earlier this month was ranked number one in the nation in the Umbro High School Rankings, it is a third straight title. The Golden Lions concluded their season with a record of 19-0-2.

"There are not many schools which can at any point claim to have the best program in the nation in any particular area," said Donald T. Sasso, principal. "The boys soccer program at St. Pius can now legitimately lay claim to being the number one soccer program in the United States."

In the May 9 contest St. Pius aimed to become the first team in state history to capture three consecutive outright titles. The tie keeps them in contention to capture the national title which will be announced June 22.

"It is remarkable enough to win one state championship, but to win three in a row is exceptional and a credit to each and every athlete as well as everyone on the coaching staff," said Mark Kelly, St. Pius athletic director. "Anytime a team performs as well as this team has, it is a reflection of the job the coaches have done. Joe Cropper and his assistant coach, Tony Patino, have done a fantastic job getting the team ready for every game and the result is a team which can approach the playing field with so much confidence."

Even though Cropper, a member of the math department at the archdiocesan high school, acknowledged that his team was a little disappointed because they did not win the title outright, he was proud of his players' efforts.

"As a math teacher, I know that three is to the right of two and the higher number is better," he said.

Cropper came to St. Pius in 1991-92 from an all boys Catholic high school in Los Angeles. He implemented a five-year plan that brought an eighth-grade boys soccer team into existence from the archdiocesan elementary feeder schools. The first year, 30 boys came out for the team; this year there were over 100 prospective players.

"I figured that it would take five years to win the state title, but we did it in four," Cropper said.

Even though six of his starters are seniors, Cropper believes that his team will remain a contender next year.

"It just keeps getting better and better," he said. "This year's freshman team is as good a team as the school has ever had. The future for St. Pius soccer is very bright."