Falcons soar! AC Flora outlasts Bishop England to win 4A girls soccer title
For the second straight season, Kennedy Bagley delivered another clutch performance in a state championship match.
The AC Flora goalkeeper stopped shot after shot in Friday’s Class 4A girls soccer championship against Bishop England. Bagley’s biggest save came when she turned away Liz Brady’s shot in the third round of penalty kicks.
One round later, Rachel Britt delivered the clinching kick as AC Flora defeated Bishop England, 1-1 (5-3 in PKs) to win its second straight state championship. The Falcons also beat the Battling Bishops in last year’s championship.
“I just wanted to play for the teammates that made it this far and who had worked their butts off on the field and off the field. And for the teammates that are going to be hoarse tomorrow because they were cheering for us so loud,” Bagley said. “I wanted it for everybody, and I had to play my part so the team could succeed.”
After the match, AC Flora coach Eric Navarro went running to hug his goalkeeper, who is in just her third year of soccer.
“Kennedy has been one that has stepped up over the last 3 and 1/2 years,” Navarro said. “... Three years of soccer experience and keeping out one of the strongest teams in the state. You couldn’t help but go give her a hug.”
Bagley finished with 15 saves in the match after stopping 19 shots in last year’s 1-0 victory.
Bagley and the Falcons were able to regroup after BE’s Sophia DeMarco scored to tie it at 1-1 with 4 minutes left in the match. The two teams played 30 minutes of overtime periods before deciding it in penalty kicks.
In penalty kicks, Bagley made the diving save to the left on Diaz’s shot to give Flora the momentum it needed.
“After we let in that goal, I knew how tight this team is and how much of a drive we have to come back,” Bagley said. “I knew it wasn’t over and just kept pushing so we could win this because I knew we could.”
ACF converted all five kicks by Mary Elizabeth Riddle, Lauren Holloway, Evan Damper, Sammi Lawther and then the clincher by Britt, who had eight goals on the season coming into the championship.
“I was thinking a million different things. I was thinking about the feeling we got from winning last year and the amount of girls on the team I was representing,” Britt said. “I wanted to make their dream come true on winning back to back (championships).
“It was crazy. We have been doing penalty kicks in practice, and all I did was make one more.”
AC Flora (23-6-1) finished the season by winning its final 13 matches with a formula similar to last year — a strong defense and goalkeeper. The Falcons allowed only 21 goals all season with just two coming in the final 17 matches.
Bishop England looked like it was going to take an early lead but had a goal wiped off because of an offsides call in the first half.,
AC Flora took the lead on Dampier’s indirect kick with 2 seconds remaining in the first half. Officials debated for several minutes to make sure she got the kick off in time.
