St. Pius X in the playoffs had defeated St. Dominic Savio Catholic (7-0) and San Antonio Christian (1-0) to reach the State Semifinals. The 2-1 win on Friday propelled them to the state title match for the first time in program history.
Midway through the first half, Ward lined up for a corner kick and booted it in. The ball was pushed out by the goalie to the feet of Tess Dabney, who rocketed one in from 30 yards out, making it 1-0 in the 24' minute. St. Agnes Academy would respond int he 28' minute with an equalizer, which tied the match 1-1 at the half.
In the second half, the play of goalkeeper Sarah Woods came up huge with multiple saves, keeping the match tied.
"I was pretty nervous the entire time, but I had the help of my teammates," Woods said. "I was confident that they would save the goals if I couldn't. I was there as much as I could be."
Woods and company kept the game tied long enough to let the offense come through in the end.
With three seconds and counting left on the clock, the victory within grasp, Flores began running onto the field towards Woods to embrace her goalie. Then the rest of the team followed in celebration.
"That was insane," Ward said. "I was so tired after the game. But once we started celebrating I got all of my energy back."
