The varsity girls soccer team played against Cor Jesu Academy for first place in the St. Louis High School Champions League on April 26 at Cor Jesu.
Before the game, Cor Jesu Academy was ranked first in the league, and Liberty was ranked second. Cor Jesu’s record was 8-1, with Liberty’s checking in at 9-3-1.
The first goal of the game, scored by Cor Jesu, was scored on a penalty kick. This would be the first of three penalty kicks during the game.
The Eagles were granted a penalty kick with 11 minutes left in the first half and tied it up on a goal was scored by Madelynn Moyers (9).
At the end of the first half, Cor Jesu and Liberty were tied with 1 goal each. However, a few minutes into the second half, Cor Jesu scored their second goal to take the lead for good.
“Once [Cor Jesu] got that second goal, we definitely, mentally, took ourselves out of the game a little bit,” said varsity soccer coach Heidi Kleekamp said.
Although the chances seemed slim, the girls continued to power through and put forth a lot of effort.
“I think our energy throughout the game was good,” Izzy Shew (9) said. “We didn’t give up the whole game.”
The team scored a second goal, but there were only a few minutes left in the game, and Cor Jesu was at four goals.
“We put up such a good fight in scoring in the last two minutes,” Kennadi Green (12) said. “I really just proved that we can play until the last minute.”
Even though they lost the championship, the varsity girls have not lost hope.
“I think that we are definitely super motivated to try and win districts and get super far into state, and just try to keep the season going,” Green said.
The team still has four games left before districts, so hopefully they achieve their goals of winning and continuing their season.
