GIRLS SOCCER: Verdigris title defense ended by Heritage Hall
May 14—Verdigris girls soccer found itself in unfamiliar territory Tuesday night — on the defensive.
That was the theme for most of the contest as Heritage Hall ended the Lady Cardinals' title reign with a 3-0 victory in the Class 3A state semifinals at Pop Murray Memorial Field in Oklahoma City.
The Lady Chargers, who entered the game undefeated, controlled possession of the ball early and managed to take several shots on the goal. Verdigris goalkeeper Lillian Adams responded accordingly, though, and made some key saves to keep things deadlocked going into halftime.
However, with the possession advantage and momentum seemingly on Heritage Hall's side, it was only a matter of time before things took a turn for the worse.
Less than two minutes into the second half, Katerina Chrysant found the back of the net for the Lady Chargers after several deflections.
Aiden Walker made it a 2-0 lead off a cross from Kilyn Carey 15 minutes later, and the Lady Cardinals were in desperation mode as they faced their biggest deficit of the season.
Heritage Hall only increased the margin, though, with Walker scoring a second goal just three minutes later from well outside the box.
The loss sent Verdigris (12-3) home before the state finals for the first time since 2017 while the Lady Chargers (14-0) went on to claim the Class 3A state championship with a 3-1 victory over Victory Christian on Friday morning.
It was also the final high school match for four Lady Cardinal seniors — Abigail Bell, Maribel Shaddix, Emma Beats and Trinity Ross.
