Saints Seek 19th Title vs. Bishop Carroll
Game 21: 18-2-1
27 May 2023 vs. 19-1 Bishop Carroll at Hummer in Topeka (2-0)
2023 STATS
Much like Maize South had been known for its high-powered offense (scoring 110 in 19 games), Bishop Carroll had been know for its stingy defense (allowing only 3 goals in 20 matches), and in fact, coming into this afternoon they had surrendered zero goals in postseason in 4 matches.
The Saints cashed two goals in the first half, one in the first two minutes of the game, and that was enough, and that was all we got. Yes, we missed a PK, had a corner kick goal called off from a late handball call, even hit one off the bar from inside the 6-box.
That first goal in the opening two minutes is one of the top goals of the season; it effectively won the match. It happened so quickly as girls just got the ball of their feet, got it wide, and got it back across. Watch that goal again and again. That's the goal that shows how good this team was.
Sydney Watts closed off her remarkable Saint Thomas Aquinas soccer career with, once again, two goals in the state final. The returning Kansas Gatorade Player of the Year, United Soccer Coaches All American played to her billing.
We, once again, used the same rotations that we had used, first, against Southwest, and then against Maize South. But since those 3rd and 4th goals never fell, we played a shorter roster with only a few substitutions today.
We did not play as well today as we had been playing, but we played well enough that the match was never in doubt. Bishop Carroll got one very good opportunity all match, but watch Andi and Jane maintain the shutout. Check it out!
Back-to-back matches frequently bring the final game of the weekend down a bit. The girls had to have anticipated a St. James vs. Saint Thomas Aquinas final as well, and that probably takes just a bit of the burn out of it.
What an accomplishment: yes, a state title, but, moreover, three in a row, and this one with a brand new coach.
Coach Brown and company did a wonderful job navigating a season that had Watts missing four games for National Team Camp (the team went 3-1), that saw its starting centerback go down in the first match of playoffs (the team went 5-0), and that hit a midseason mini slump that saw the team lose back-to-back 1-0 games, only to bust out into its best soccer of the season afterwards.
We could witness the joy of the accomplishment immediately after the final whistle blew, throughout the state roll call, through lots of pictures and many hugs.
So many teams begin a season talking of a state title, but only a few of those teams fulfill its spoken objective. Our theme of "sTRIve for success," even highlighted the goal of the 3-peat.
This team has become part of STA Soccer lore. They began state playoffs ranked 9th in the nation, so they will land somewhere in the top ten programs in the country for this spring. And many of the players will receive plenty of personal awards, but all in all this group was a team who played for one another.
If you ever looked over there at that sideline during the match, the girls who were not in were always standing and cheering their teammates on. Most teams sit in those dugouts, on those benches, not this Aquinas team. They were something special. They, however, will not get credit for the strongest dogpile in STA history . . . but the tradition did continue. As a long-time Saint Thomas Aquinas assistant once said: We invented the dogpile. Check it out!
Early next year the school will hang a 2023 state banner in the gym, another chapter in Saint Thomas Aquinas Girls' soccer history, another story to be shared with many, some who have not even walked through those gym doors yet.
STATS:
First Half:
Saints: Shots: 7 (5) Corners: 0
38:12 Watts (Rylance brings the ball up field from centerback, finds Watts checked down who one-touches it to Cabantac who finds O'Keefe wide with a short through-ball before Maggie drives towards the baseline inverting the "T-ball" towards the PK mark for the one-touch finish). 4 straight one-touches. Just wow.
7:54 Watts (Hansen starts it with the long deadball into a weak clear by Bishop Carroll that Zoe 1-touches to Sydney who runs a delayed give-and-go with Anisten. Textbook.)
Carroll: Shots: 3 (2) Corners: 0
Second Half:
Saints: Shots: 8 (6) Corners: 1 (Marn)
Carroll: Shots: 8 (2) Corners: 3
CLASS 5A
At Hummer Sports Park Soccer Stadium in Topeka, it was St. Thomas Aquinas (18-2-1) capping off a remarkable season with a 2-0 state championship game victory over a Bishop Carroll team with one previous loss on the year.
St. Thomas Aquinas dominated from the 5A semifinal round on, winning 4-0 to end what was at the time a perfect season for Maize South to reach the championship game. Maize South (19-2-0) also fell to St. James Academy (18-3-0) in the third-place game.
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