Varsity Girls Claim Silver at State Soccer Championship
This past spring, the Upper School girls’ varsity soccer team turned “the beautiful game” into many beautiful games for Principia sports fans—and wrote a new chapter in School athletic history in the bargain.
In mid-May, players, coaches, and the entire Principia community were delighted when the Lady Panthers won the District Championship against John F. Kennedy High School (1–0). This was the first time in the School’s history that a girls’ soccer team had attained that level of performance.
In the two weeks following, while juggling finals and project deadlines—and graduation preparations for the seven seniors on the squad—the team ran, dribbled, and kicked its way toward victories in Sectionals (4–0 against Lutheran North) and the State quarterfinals (6–1 against Orchard Farm).
Creative rescheduling, with the loving cooperation of students, teachers, and families, allowed the seven seniors on the team to graduate early at a special and touching ceremony held in their honor on Thursday, May 31. That afternoon, the team, accompanied by Head Coach and Athletic Director Travis Brantingham and two assistant coaches, set off for Blue Springs, a suburb of Kansas City, Missouri, to play in the “final four.”
The next day, when they won a hard-fought, 1–0 victory over the two-time reigning state champions, Springfield Catholic, the Principia community was abuzz with anticipation.
Finally, the big day dawned: commencement for the class of 2012 took place early, finishing by 10 a.m. Many students, families, and faculty quickly traded in their graduation finery for shorts and T-shirts, and made the three-and-a-half-hour journey to Blue Springs by bus or car.
Although the Lady Panthers lost 3–1 in the final game to St. Pius X (a team they had beaten in early April), earning second place at the State level—not to mention their winning attitude and competitive spirit—gave their fans and coaches plenty to cheer about.
“Next year we are going to come back with fire,” said sophomore Emelie Fredrikson. “It will be a clean slate. We are going to work hard, just like we did this year, and we are going to bring it home.”
Congratulations to the Lady Panthers and their coaches for this season’s outstanding accomplishments!