On Nov. 7, the McNicholas Women’s Soccer Team won the Division II state title in Columbus, Ohio. The Rockets defeated Archbishop Hoban 3-0 in the Columbus Crew Stadium, finishing the season with a 21-1 record.
The team was able to overcome the departure of seven seniors from last season and improve as a team. Senior Lauren Rice said that team chemistry was key to the season’s success.
“We’re like a family, we tell each other everything,” Rice said. “We’re so close on and off the field and that’s what lets us play so well.”
Head Coach Ben Kirkpatrick said that long months of preparation went into this year’s season.
“It has taken a lot of hard work to get here. The girls start optional conditioning and training in June and work throughout the summer to get in shape and ready for the high school season,” Kirkpatrick said. “It also takes everyone on the team working together to achieve one common goal. We have had state as a goal all season and every one of the girls has dedicated herself to helping the team achieve that.”
The game opened with a goal in the 2nd minute from junior Emma Heise, who added another in the 17th minute, giving the Rockets a 2-0 lead going into halftime. The game concluded with senior Meghan Martella scoring in the final moments of the game to clinch a 3-0 victory.
Martella said this team took a lot of criticism and faced much adversity in their road to state.
“Everyone thought we were going to be bad, losing all the seniors that we did,” Martella said. “But we knew we had the potential, and we proved everyone wrong.”
The women’s soccer team now joins the list of previous state champs at McNick, including the 1984 men’s soccer team, the 1998 baseball team, and the 2001 women’s basketball team.
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