Catholic Captures Missouri Class 1 Girls Soccer Title

Springfield Catholic – 3
Trinity Titans – 0
The Fightin’ Irish of Springfield Catholic brought home their first, and the region’s first, Missouri High School soccer title with their win over budding rival Trinity Catholic on Saturday. The win was fueled by a pair of goals in two minutes, the first scored by sophomore Bekah Bade in the 55th minute as she pushed the ball from the left to the right across the top of the box. As she shook off her defender’s challenge her shot found the upper right corner just beyond the reach of GK Taylor Zerbe, setting off a team celebration and despair for the Titans.

Junior Shelby Hatz scored a second goal a minute later, assisted by Bade, to provide the margin the Catholic faithful needed to feel confident the 13 year pursuit had been achieved. The Irish continued to attack, and Rachel Herron was only denied by a great save. The icing came in the 76th minute when Natalie Smid’s cross into the box was headed into the Titan’s goal by a Trinity player for the final margin.

The offensive onslaught came after a first half of play against Trinity’s staunch defense, including three fine saves by Taylor Zerbe, who brought back memories of last years loss in the semifinal round. The Irish learned from that loss and applied those lessons this year, bringing a resolve that was lacking in 2009′s playoffs. That was the most appealing aspect of their play this year, when they challenged their opponent to play their game and match the Irish’s depth. I’ll have more on that tomorrow with an interview with Coach Ben Timson on this year’s squad and a look back at the players that helped establish the tradition.

Story on Springfield Catholic website

Trinity Falls to Springfield Catholic from St Louis Post-Distpatch

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