28 May at Andover vs. Kapaun (5-0)
Once again we will let the Wichita Press tell the story. BWhite did name Brigid Linder as the BWhite Player of the Match. She picked up two assists early to help get us out to that 2-0 halftime lead. In fact, she picked up her 3rd assist to close it out. And once again she was stellar on defense.
Personally I loved the last 8 minutes with our 4 non-injured seniors on the field together playing, to create one last goal for Meg Loughman. Our two torn ACL's (Colling and Stomp) were on the side cheering them on chanting SENIORS. SENIORS with the rest of the team.
So as we coaches scanned the field I think most of us did think of Claire Pavolvich and our state t-shirts back in 2010 when this whole 7-in-a-row thing started: that DLS stood boldly out then (Dirty Little Secret). And these seniors made sure it was the utmost part of their legacy as well: Team Chemistry: that's the DLS of STA Girls Soccer.
KC Star
St. Thomas Aquinas won its seventh consecutive Kansas 5A state girls soccer title Saturday, dominating Kapaun Mount Carmel 5-0.
The Saints’ celebratory pile at midfield wasn’t a scene Aquinas coach Craig Ewing could easily envision when his revamped team finished seventh in early April at its Mo-Kan Challenge.
“This one might be the most remarkable,” said Ewing, as Aquinas collected its 16th state championship. “We graduated the library. For this group to re-create themselves, I am so proud of them.”
Aquinas, which finished 15-4-2, replaced eight starters this season. Four other new starters later were sidelined by injuries.
But after defeating previously unbeaten Maize 3-1 in Friday’s semifinals, five Aquinas players scored against Kapaun — Caroline Romme, Anna Woltering, Katelyn Heying, Madison Janky and Meg Loughman — and junior Brigid Linder had three assists.
Aquinas, which outshot Kapaun 17-2, netted first-half goals off a corner kick and free kick.
“We had not done well most of the season on set pieces, but we got better at it,” Ewing said. “The willingness of the team to step up and get better means a lot.”
Kapaun, which had won 12 straight since an April 15 loss to Aquinas, struggled to foil the Saints’ crisp passing. The Crusaders’ comeback hopes were diminished in the first minute of the second half when Aquinas junior Katelyn Heying rifled a shot from the right side into the upper left corner of the net for a 3-0 lead.
“Our coaches told us, ‘It’s 2-0. The next goal is the most important one,’ ” Heying said. “We always want to come out intense at the start of a half.”
Aquinas finished in style, as Loughman, a senior, headed in a corner kick in the 78th minute.
“They’re just very hard to beat,” Kapaun coach Anthony Cantele said. “You almost have to play a perfect game no matter who you are.”
Wichita Eagle:
St. Thomas Aquinas’ Elizabeth Miller, right, competes for a ball with Kapaun’s Evelyn Nguyen in the second half of Aquinas’ 5-0 win in the Class 5A girls soccer championship in Andover. Fred Solis/ Correspondent |
5A girls soccer: Aquinas puts end to Kapaun’s late-season run with championship-game win
Published May 28 at 6:30 p.m. | Last updated May 28 at 6:33 p.m.
ANDOVER As Kapaun Mount Carmel’s girls navigated through the soccer postseason, a hint of destiny began to surface.
Hard-fought victories over Valley Center and Newton preceded a Class 5A semifinal triumph over Mill Valley that was decided late Friday with perfect execution on a corner kick.
“You talk about destiny, and that’s what it felt like to me,” Kapaun coach Anthony Cantele said. “Just the way we won games. There were plenty of times where we probably shouldn’t have.”
But destiny collided with dynasty Saturday, and dynasty won. St. Thomas Aquinas snapped Kapaun’s 12-game winning streak with a 5-0 victory in the 5A championship, the Saints’ seventh consecutive state title and 16th overall.
Five players scored and junior Brigid Linder had three assists for Aquinas, which finished 15-4-2. Kapaun, which hadn’t lost since falling 3-0 to Aquinas on April 15, finished 16-5.
“Every year, they’re just a very well-coached, well-organized team,” Cantele said of Aquinas, which took the lead 51/2 minutes into the match on Caroline Romme’s goal that caromed off the crossbar and landed behind the goal line. “The biggest thing we tried to do that we weren’t able to take away was their set pieces and their shots outside the box.”
Aquinas, which dominated ball possession throughout the game, outshot Kapaun 10-1 in the first half and led 2-0 at the break. Any comeback hopes were quickly extinguished when Aquinas junior Katelyn Heying rifled a shot past Kapaun goalkeeper Megan Michaelis in the opening minute of the second half to make it 3-0.
Heying also scored an early second-half goal in the Saints’ 3-1 victory over Maize in Friday’s semifinals.
“Our coaches told us, ‘It’s 2-0. The next goal is the most important one,’ ” Heying said. “We always want to come out intense at the start of a half.”
While Kapaun managed just two shots on goal that lacked steam, Aquinas closed in style. Madison Janky slipped between two Kapaun defenders to tap in Elizabeth McCormick’s lead pass for a 4-0 lead, then Linder lofted a corner kick to senior Meg Loughman, who headed it in with 1:23 remaining.
“They’re just very hard to beat,” Cantele said. “You almost have to play a perfect game no matter who you are.”
Maize 4, Mill Valley 0 – Kansas signee Katie McClure scored two second-half goals – giving her 51 for the season and 164 for her career – to help Maize secure third place.
The Eagles (19-1) led 2-0 at intermission after goals by senior Ashley Zane and junior MaKayla Toth. McClure added goals in the 60th and 78th minutes as Maize outshot Mill Valley 14-5.
| Kapaun | 0 | 0 | — | 0 |
| S.T. Aquinas | 2 | 3 | — | 5 |
First half – Aquinas, Romme (Linder), Woltering (Linder). Second half – Aquinas, K. Heying (Denning), Janky (McCormick), Loughman (Linder). Shots – Kapaun 1-1–2, Aquinas 10-7–17. Saves – Kapaun, M. Michaelis 7-2–9; Aquinas, Calvert 1-0–1, McEnroe x-1–1.
| Mill Valley | 0 | 0 | — | 0 |
| Maize | 2 | 2 | — | 4 |
First half – Maize, Zane (Toth), Toth (unassisted). Second half – Maize, McClure (Krier), McClure (Benefiel). Shots – Mill Valley 2-3–5; Maize 7-7–14. Saves – Mill Valley, Heffernon 2-2–4, Goetsch x-0–0. Maize, Bontrager 2-2–4.
Catch It Kansas:
Saints win seventh-straight title in 5A
ANDOVER, Kan. The Saints keep marching in.
St. Thomas Aquinas knocked off Kapaun 5-0 in the Class 5A state championship, giving the school its seventh-straight state title.
Five different girls scored for the Saints and it was also the 10th in the last 12 years for the school.
"We may have been the favorite last year or the year before, but we were surely not the favorite this year," St. Thomas Aquinas coach Craig Ewing said after knocking off No. 1 seed Maize and the Crusaders. "To win something when you're not supposed to, those are the wins that mean the most."
Often known for their ability in set pieces, the Saints jumped on the board with two goals in those sets in the first 16 minutes.
St. Thomas Aquinas took a 2-0 lead into the locker room and tacked on three additional goals in the final 40 minutes to complete the shutout.
"We had not done very well with them for most of the season, but we worked at it and we worked at it," Ewing said. "(With) our first two goals today being on set pieces... they're one of the measurements on how we have gotten better."
Cantele said it was very difficult keeping the Saints' versatile and deep attack contained.
"Dead ball situations are what they thrive on," Kapaun coach Anthony Cantele said. "We tried to take them away and close on them as quickly as we could when they shot from outside the box. Unfortunately, the one time we weren't able to do that they had a phenomenal goal. That's just how good they are. Give them one inch and they'll take a mile."
Just like they did in Friday night's 3-1 win over Maize, the Saints jumped into cruise control defensively after taking the early lead.
"We are not an explosive offensive team, scoring one or two a lot of the time," Ewing said. "When we get good set pieces, we do score more though. We are a very, very good defensive team and I feel we've got the best keeper in the state with a terrific back line."
The Saints maintained possession for the majority of the contest, keeping the Crusaders from running their sets.
We tried to do our best to get the ball out of our side of the field and get it up field," Cantele said. "We tried to put pressure on their defense and they're solid back there. They dealt with what we tried to do and it didn't work out for us."
The Crusaders (16-5) have now finished one full season without longtime coach Alan Shepherd and it was one that Cantele and his team will always remember.
"We felt like he was with us the entire time," Cantele said. "...Leading into this game, it was almost like destiny. It's what it felt like to me and that's what I always thought it was. The way we won games, there were probably plenty of times that we shouldn't have. We pulled it out, had some good fortune go our way and all credit to our girls because we executed when we had to."
STATS.
First Half: Saints. Shots. 13 (8). Corners. 5 (Klanke 3, Loughman, and Golubski)
Crusaders: Shots. 1 (1). Corners. 1.
Second Half: Shots. 16 (9). Corners. 6 (Pigott, Janky, M. Heying, Golubski, Klanke, Bryson)
Crusaders. Shots. 1 (0). Corners. 0.
