The St. Pius girls won their third consecutive Class AAA state soccer championship with a 4-0 decision over Woodward Academy on Saturday night.
Four different St. Pius players scored goals, and the defense registered its fifth consecutive shutout in the playoffs.
“It was awesome. It never gets old winning a state championship,” St. Pius coach Sarah Geiger said.
“I feels great every time because you have different girls, different players, different seasons and a different journey. When it ends like this, it’s wonderful.”
The St. Pius girls have won three consecutive titles, but this season’s team was most dominant in the playoffs. St. Pius outscored opponents 32-0 over five games, including a 10-0 win over Mary Persons in the quarterfinals and 10-0 win over Allatoona in the semifinals.
“Three straight is great,” Geiger said.
“Oh my gosh, I can’t put it into words. ... The girls come hungry year after year.”
St. Pius’ Tiffany Rodriquez and Diana Soloaga each scored for the 2-0 lead at halftime, with teammates Kelsey Keown and Kaitlyn Orman also netting goals.
“They [St. Pius] played the better game today,” Woodward Academy coach Tonia Webb said.
“I was hoping we could do some things. We were just lacking in the midfield area.
“We felt like we had a harder route to get here, so we were a little more prepared. But we had a young team with only three seniors. ... It was a great accomplishment to get to the finals. I’m proud of them, and we’ll be back.”
St. Pius loses six seniors, including five who will play in college — midfielder Bryana Gold (Villanova), fullback Elizabeth Kinsel (Georgia State) and fullback Grace Raines (The Citadel), midfielder Andrea Papania (University of Dallas), and Keown (Rhodes).
When asked about the possibility of winning a fourth consecutive state championship next year, Geiger replied, “I don’t like to make predictions like that. We take it one game at a time. But I like the future of our program.
“We had five freshmen on the team and four sophomores, along with a good junior class. All the younger players got valuable experience this season, so they will be ready to go after it next season.”
St. Pius boys 5, Woodward Academy 4: In the Class AAA championship Saturday night, Tyler Alexander scored two goals as the Golden Lions held on to win their second state title in three years.
About the Author
