By Betsy Haugh / Scrimmageplaycva.com contributor
Friday night’s VISAA Division 1 semifinal match was more than just a chance for the St. Anne’s-Belfield’s girls soccer team to reach the state title game. It was also an opportunity to avenge last week’s LIS final loss to top-seeded St. Catherine’s and prove the young but talented Saints belong among the state’s elite.
The Saints did all three, defeating St. Catherine’s 2-1 thanks to two goals from sophomore Kylie Hegemier, including the game winner in the final seconds of regulation.
“Holy smokes, I’m so happy,” said St. Anne’s-Belfield coach Mark O’Donnell. “We’ve only had spring soccer for five years, so to go from having – I counted the picture the other day – 15 girls in our whole JV through varsity – we only had 15 girls in our entire school – so five years later to be playing for a championship is unbelievable.”
Securing the historic victory did not prove to be an easy task for No. 4-seeded St. Anne’s-Belfield, as St. Catherine’s senior Amanda Kim sent a strike from distance into the upper corner of the goal past diving Saints keeper Lauren Gampper to give her team an early 1-0 advantage just 14 minutes into the game.
Gampper, however, would come up big for St. Anne’s-Belfield throughout the match, keeping her team in the game.
“Today she was just phenomenal. She’s rock solid in the back. It was excellent,” O’Donnell said.
Offensively, St. Anne’s-Belfield got the gears turning with minutes remaining in the first half, as Hegemier received a ball played over the St. Catherine’s back line and scored the equalizing goal to give the Saints the momentum going into halftime.
“St. Catherine’s just dominated the first half, and out of nowhere [Kylie] manufactures a goal to tie it up,” O’Donnell said. “She is unbelievable. She is a force.”
The excitement continued in the second half, as solid defensive efforts by both teams left the stadium convinced overtime was eminent until Hegemier took matters into her own hands and blasted a shot past the St. Catherine’s goalkeeper with under one minute to play to earn St. Anne’s-Belfield the victory in dramatic fashion.
The Saints hope the momentum continues in their favor when they play traditional powerhouse Collegiate in the state championship Saturday at 8 p.m. at Ukrop Park in Richmond.
“We’ve played them twice, and we’ve beaten them twice, so it’s really difficult to beat a team three times,” O’Donnell said. “They’re very well coached, they’ve got a lot of great players. It’s going to be a really exciting game.”
