Thrilling, nail-biting, heartbreaking finish caps BE girls soccer season

Eighty minutes of regulation. Two 10-minute periods of overtime. And two 5-minute Golden Goal periods (sudden death) to boot. 

The Bishop England and A.C. Flora girls were still tied, 1-1, after 110 minutes of emotional, physical, and exhausting soccer in the May 22 Class AAAA State Championship, which was contested at Memorial Stadium in Columbia. 

And now, the match would be determined by penalty kicks, a somewhat controversial and perhaps an inexact way to conclude a match with so much at stake. In a team sport, the last minutes of action involved the will of individual players taking a penalty kick vs. the skill of a solitary goalkeeper. 

That’s what the championship came down to as the Falcons and Bishops gave it their best effort. 

In the penalty kick phase, Falcon keeper Kennedy Bagley made her biggest save of the match when she deflected a potential BE goal in the third round of the PK. 

In the fourth round of PKs, ACF’s Rachel Britt clinched the victory with a goal as the Falcons prevailed, 1-1, including 5-3 in the PK phase. 

It was the second straight state championship for A.C. Flora, which finished with a 13-game winning streak and a 24-6 record. And it was the second straight year the Bishopssuffered the agony of coming oh so close in the biggest match of the season, suffering through another painful loss. Last year. Last May, A.C. Flora scored in the 58th minute to gain a 1-0 triumph and a state title as Bagley shone as a keeper. 

“I’m super proud of the girls,” first-year Bishop England coach Linda Brady told reporters. “They fought really hard, and it’s tough to come back in a close match like this. A.C. Flora played hard too. Sometimes things like this can happen, right? Somebody has to lose.” 

Last year, the Falcon keeper Bagley survived a 19-shot barrage by the Bishops, recording 16 saves. She was just as effective on May 22 with 15 saves against Bishops as the Falcons claimed another crown in a season in which they allowed only 21 goals, including only two in the last 17 matches. 

A.C. Flora grabbed a 1-0 lead when junior forward Evan Dampier scored on an indirect kick with just seconds left on the first-half clock. Officials quickly reviewed the shot goal to make sure the goal happened with time left on the clock. 

Bishop England all-state selection Sophia DeMarco, who scored both of the Bishops’ goals in the Lower State Championship victory over Gray Collegiate Academy, scored with four minutes left in regulation to forge a 1-1 tie and send the match into overtime. 

The Bishops, who were seeking their first state title since 2019 and 13th overall, finished with a 17-7 record.