Holy Family got the best of Southwest Christian in the regular season matchup between the girls’ soccer teams.
But it was the Stars who came out on top in the postseason, as Southwest Christian won 4-2 in the section 6A semifinal round on Oct. 15, avenging the 2022 regular season loss, as well as the 2021 postseason loss to the Fire.
The Stars got on the board first with a goal from Piper Stafford 10 minutes into the game. After a Holy Family goal, Bella Travis helped Southwest Christian take a 2-1 lead into halftime with a header for a goal.
Travis added another goal in the second half to give the Stars a 3-2 lead, and Maya Johnson scored about a minute later to essentially seal the victory.
Given the results, a role reversal took place in 2022. Last season, it was Holy Family who avenged a regular season loss to Southwest Christian in the section 6A championship to earn a state tournament berth.
To meet in the semifinals, Southwest Christian beat United Christian Academy 9-1 and Holy Family shut out Mayer Lutheran 7-0 in the quarterfinal round Oct. 13.
With the win, Southwest Christian (13-2-3) advanced to the section 6A championship game Oct. 18 against no. 1 seed Providence Academy. The Stars fell 3-0 to the Lions on Sept. 27 this season.
With the loss, Holy Family finished the season with a 9-6-2 record. Maggie Dowling and Gabby Legg tied for a team-high 13 goals for the Fire offense this season, and Dowling added six assists. Olivia Paidosh had 85 saves in 10 games while Bella Hocevar had 72 saves in 10 games. Holy Family will graduate four seniors in Izzie and Olivia Paidosh, Janielle Stanoch and Sophia Bookmeier.
On the boys’ side, Southwest Christian (14-4) won its first two games of the section 6A tournament to advance to the championship game Oct. 18.
Marcus Banegas and Jake Bettin each scored two goals to lift the Stars in a 6-1 win over Chesterton Academy on Oct. 13. Banegas also had two assists in the victory.
Southwest Christian then faced off against Providence Academy in the semifinal round and had a similar result against the Lions as the regular season. The Stars shut out the Lions 4-0 on Sept. 27 and did so again Oct. 15. Bettin recorded a hat trick while Muluken Kamm added one goal and two assists.
The win moves Southwest Christian one game closer to defending its 2021 state championship. The Stars face Watertown-Mayer in the section 6A championship, who they beat 3-1 on Sept. 15.
Coming into the postseason, it appeared as if Southwest Christian and Holy Family were on a collision course for the section 6A championship game as the top two seeds in the tournament. While the Stars held up their end of the bargain, the Fire fell 1-0 to Watertown-Mayer at home in the semifinal round Oct. 15.
Holy Family had beaten the Royals 1-0 on the same field over a week earlier to clinch a share of the Wright County conference. The Fire beat United Christian Academy 3-0 in the quarterfinal to advance and play Watertown-Mayer.
Holy Family finished the season with an 11-2-3 record. Thomas Laaksonen led the Fire with nine goals and four assists, while Eric Oconitrillo finished with seven goals. Kaden Dervin and Andrew Silverman each had six goals. Goalkeeper Jackson Baker had 118 saves and allowed only six goals in 15 games.
