Rinaldo's goal sends McKeel to state semifinals for first time

LAKELAND — The McKeel girls soccer team made history on Tuesday night, but it might have come at a high cost.

Kadence Rinaldo’s goal with a little more than three minutes left in the game was the only tally of McKeel’s 1-0 win over Academy of the Holy Names in the Class 4A, Region 3 Final on Tuesday night at Lane Construction Field.

The Wildcats (16-4-1) advanced to their first-ever state final four appearance but could very well be without key defender Amiyah Lemmard, who injured her knee in the second half and had to be carried to the sideline.

“That will definitely play in how we approach things,” McKeel head coach Jacob Sweeney said. “We’ll make some final decisions once she sees a trainer. If I know Amiyah, she’ll want to be out there. We’ll do what we can.”

What Sweeney and the Wildcats are going to do is continue their historic season, thanks to some late heroics and a bevy of great saves by goaltender Chrissa Avery.

With time winding down, MacKenzie Thornton drew a foul as she advanced the ball from the middle of the field to the right side.

Ava King was selected to take the free kick, which came approximately 5 yards out of the box. King sent a perfect back corner ball to the waiting head of Rinaldo who buried the shot past Holy Names goaltender Adele Politz to trigger a wild celebration.

McKeel’s defense stood tall for the final three minutes as the Wildcats took the rubber match of the teams’ three meetings this year.

It took stellar defensive play from Avery and Madison Caustic, who moved into Lemmard’s spot after the injury, to make it happen.

Avery made several key stops, including a point-blank hand check save that she was able to just send over the crossbar with less than three minutes gone in the second half.

“This season doesn’t happen without Chrissa Avery,” Sweeney said. “She’s been a fantastic keeper. I can’t say it with the right words. She’s just a fantastic keeper. She’s a team player. We’ve had some really strong teams in the past, teams worthy of the final four, but the big difference to me is having her in goal. She's been a Godsend.”

The same could be said for Caustic’s versatility, as she stymied the Jaguars’ attack again and again with the help of her defensive linemates.

“We know we can count on her to fill any role,” Sweeney said. “When Amiyah went down, we knew Maddie could bring it home. It was a unanimous coaching decision to move her to the back. She came through big for us.”

McKeel controlled most of the first half, sending shot after shot on net, but Politz was up to the task.

Politz denied two early chances by Caustic, and stuffed a King attempt late in the first half by sticking her foot out as King tried to send it back across the goal.

With 16 minutes remaining, Politz again came up big, tipping a shot by Thornton just over the crossbar to again deny the Wildcats.

McKeel finally found the back of the net, and finally has its first region title.

“It’s a lot of years and effort,” Sweeney said. “To finally be here is a little surreal. I give credit to the staff and the coaches these girls have had throughout their lives. It takes a community to build a team. This is a tribute to Lakeland to see a team in the final four like this.”

This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Rinaldo's goal sends McKeel to state semifinals for 1st time