Reitz, Memorial, Mater Dei secure IHSAA girls soccer sectional championships
EVANSVILLE – This result wasn’t a surprise to those on the home bench.
The Reitz High School girls' soccer program believed it could compete all season. More specifically, it believed it could compete against this opponent. The Panthers would require a complete effort, though. A flat performance would be a non-starter.
Reitz made believers out of more than just itself on Saturday.
The No. 10 Panthers won their first sectional championship since 2009 with a dominant effort. A 4-0 statement victory over No. 5 Castle in the 3A final at EVSC Field. Past results didn’t matter. Reitz was the best team on this day.
“We kept telling them all year you gotta believe,” said Reitz coach Jeremy Wolfe. “They believed it and finally put 80 minutes together. Our defense was unbelievable and our keeper stepped up with some huge saves."
A Reitz victory wasn’t unexpected. This score might have been. Castle, a regional finalist last year, had this group’s number recently. A penalty kick victory in the sectional opener last season after falling behind goals. A 4-2 win on September 20 when the Knights never trailed.
The rematch was arguably the Panthers’ most complete effort this season considering the stage. The Knights, featuring one of the deeper rosters in the area, had chances throughout but could never finish. It was only the third time Castle (14-3) had been shut out this season. It never lost when scoring at least one goal this fall.
“We came into this knowing we could beat them,” said senior Taylor Johnson. “We wanted revenge from last year. It’s my senior season. I didn’t want to end it feeling I didn’t give it my all.”
Winning a championship also requires your best players to play like it. That was Johnson for Reitz.
The Evansville commit scored twice and added to her school record assist total on another. Johnson found the back of the net less than seven minutes in on a header over the keeper. She put the Panthers up 2-0 with 26 minutes left on a counter.
Matea Bradfield found space to net her 28th goal with 13 minutes remaining. Charli Miller rifled home a free ball following a corner kick five minutes later. The Panthers’ stars came to play. Kylie Roberts and her back line kept the Knights off the board, but Johnson was the key on the attack.
“She is so athletic and fast,” said Wolfe. “They were trying to double her but she kept working. It’s the reason she’s going to UE on an athletic scholarship. The effort she had today was incredible.”
Reitz (15-3) has produced several quality players in recent memory. It was routinely among the top teams in the Southern Indiana Athletic Conference. It always seemed to run into a championship-caliber opponent in the sectional.
This team proved to be the exception. The Panthers now host Floyd Central in the 3A regional semifinal on Thursday.
“The past couple of years we wanted to win but we weren’t driven,” said Johnson. “Now as seniors, we’re taking that leadership to push our team to where we really want to be.”
Class 2A: Memorial remains on a quest to defend its state championship
In the end, there was little doubt about the end result. Memorial’s win over Gibson Southern wasn’t the Tigers’ best performance of the season, but it didn’t have to be. Memorial played well in patches, but was far the better team Saturday afternoon, with the Titans only getting one shot on goal. The Tigers would have won by far more had Gibson Southern goalkeeper Chloey Graham not made several quality saves.
With the win, Memorial hosts Silver Creek at 6 p.m. Thursday on the next step in its 2A state title defense campaign.
“I think we played in minutes that we were really strong and possessed the ball nicely and found some through balls to our attacking players, but we were off defensively and out of winning balls in the air,” Tigers coach Angie Lensing said. “We talked about intensity at second half, trying to utilize that energy in a positive way going forward.”
Evansville commit Ella Hamner opened the scoring early in the first half. From there, the winner wasn’t in doubt, it was simply a matter of how many Memorial would score. Avarie Zeller’s brace and Southern Indiana commit Lydia Bordfeld’s finish off a corner rounded out the Tigers’ scoring as they breezed through to the regional round.
“I feel like today, we did well. We tried to possess the ball and not force shots and we tried to get it wide and get crosses in,” Bordfeld said. “We weren’t the best out of the air today, but we’ll get there and we’ll just keep getting better.”
The next step is fixing some of the off patches from Saturday’s match before hosting the Dragons on Thursday. Lensing said she knows Silver Creek coach Brett O’Laughlin well and that the Dragons will come into the match well-prepared for it.
“We celebrate today,” Lensing said, “then on Monday we get prepared for Silver Creek.”
Part of that preparation will be fixing the parts of Thursday’s win and growing from there. The Tigers weren’t as strong in the air as they typically are, and there were some errant passes that snuffed out attacks before they could really begin.
Fixing those areas will be crucial for Memorial throughout the rest of its postseason campaign.
“Where we grow is where we continue to be where we find ourselves being successful,” Lensing said. “We need to continue to find feet and play simple. When we play too quick in one-time passing, sometimes we get caught and we turnover the ball.
“Going forward, if we continue to do that, we hopefully will continue to get better each game.”
Other girls' soccer sectional finals
In the Class A final at Forest Park, No. 4 Mater Dei dominated from start to finish in a 7-1 championship victory over the No. 15 Rangers. It is the first sectional title for the Wildcats since winning the 2A state title in 2019.
Mater Dei left no doubt with its first half. Este Bonnell scored three of her fourth goals in the opening 40 minutes. Tess Freeman found the back of the net twice and Morgan Wannemueler also beat the keeper. The Wildcats (11-7) led 6-1 by the break. Addy Schipp scored the lone goal for the Rangers.
Mater Dei host Washington Catholic in the regional semifinal on Thursday. The Cardinals were a 2-0 winner over Sullivan.
In the Class 2A final at Jasper, Washington defeated Princeton 5-2 to win the sectional championship. It is the first title for the Hatchets since 2018.
This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: IHSAA girls soccer: Reitz, Memorial, Mater Dei secure sectional titles
