The Archbishop McCarthy girls’ soccer team captures the Class 5A state championship
Nearly a year to the day on the very same field that they cried tears of despair, this time it was tears of joy for members of the Archbishop McCarthy girls’ soccer team on Friday afternoon.
That following a history-making day for the Mavericks as they defeated Ponte Vedra 2-0 in the Class 5A state championship game at Spec Martin Stadium.
It marked the program’s first state championship and it came one year after they reached their first state title game only to be turned away by Montverde in a frustrating 1-0 defeat.
“I can’t even really explain it right now,” said McCarthy coach Mike Sica, who started this journey for the program 10 years ago. “For the last 10 years it’s been about having to chip away patiently, getting better and better along the way but having to deal with heartbreak as well.
“Last year was tough for the girls because we really felt like we could get it then but give all the credit to our seniors. They’re the heart and soul of this team and the ones who led the way in getting us back here today and over the hump to make history.”
McCarthy, which finished 22-1-2 and is ranked No. 6 nationally, (the only loss coming to Los Alamitos on a trip to California in early January) got an early goal and never looked back.
Just six minutes in, Jordyn Pitter broke free down the right side and got the corner turned down low. When she centered a pass in front of the net, Ponte Vedra’s Tatum Townsend, in an effort to try and clear the ball, knocked in her own net.
The Sharks (16-6-4), who were looking for their third state title and first since 2012, then spent the rest of the first half and first 15 minutes of the second half putting heat on the McCarthy defense and peppering both goalkeepers, Paloma Pena and Isabella Quintero.
“Getting that goal early was big,” Sica said. “Then I guess we sat on it for awhile because no team gets here by accident. They’re good and were breathing down our throat but our keepers came up big with some nice saves.”
Then came an insurance goal. With 22 minutes left, Eliana Ramirez broke loose down the right side and got the corner turned on the Ponte Vedra defense. After PV keeper Riley Collett committed, Ramirez centered a perfect ball that senior forward Lily Katz was waiting for and knocked it home.
“All I knew was to go and sprint as fast as I could down the right side,” Ramirez said. “Once I knew I had the defender beat, I would be able to get a good cross on it. We practice that play a million times and could probably do it in our sleep and I knew Lily would be there when I crossed it and she was.”
“Everyday, it’s the same thing, we do it over and over and over,” said Katz. “The pass was perfect and as soon as I saw their keeper overcommit to one side, I knew I had it and what a feeling when we got that second goal.”
Said Katz: “When we lost last year, we knew we had most of the team coming back so we really felt like we could get back here again but getting here is one thing, trying to win it is something different and I’m just so happy that we could get this done for our school today and honored to have been a part of history.”