THUNDER BAY -- “A perfect ending to a perfect season,” said St. Patrick High School head coach Traci O’Hara.
In a game that won’t soon be forgotten in the minds of coaches, players, and fans, the Saints capped an undefeated season by beating the St. Ignatius Falcons 1-0 in the SSSAA girls' varsity soccer championship.
The game was largely a defensive struggle with few scoring opportunities for either side throughout the regular period. Teams exchanged the lead three times before St. Patrick’s Camryn Sorel shelved the championship goal.
It ended the Falcon’s two year championship run.
“I was very nervous, I didn’t think I was going to score,” said the 10th grader, who usually plays midfield but spent the night on defense.
“I was looking at the left side the whole time and shot it right,” she said. “It feels amazing.”
The win ended a two-year drought for the Saints whose last championship came in 2015. The two schools have exchanged the trophy each year since 1997.
St. Ignatius, who came into the playoffs as the No. 3 seed, started to apply the pressure late in the second half by putting five shots on goal.
Their best chance came to the foot of Olivia Walsh, who put a shot wide of the left post after a scrum.
Maeve Pylypchuk also had a shot sail just wide in the third minute of extra time.
The defensive backfield of Kassie Meo, Maddie Brown, and Camryn Sorel managed to contain the Ignatius attack, and force penalty kicks.
The penalty kicks saw the Falcons, who kicked first, grab the advantage three different times. However, the Saints managed to respond each time.
In the fifth round of penalty kicks, St. Patrick goalie Erin Szturm made a key save against St. Ignatius’ Erin Ruberto, which allowed Sorel to net the go-ahead goal.
The team will now head to Windsor for the provincial championships on June 7.
“I’m really excited,” Sorel said. “I’m pretty confident. I think we have a good shot to win.”
