“Apart from God you can do nothing” (John 15:5) The seniors chose this verse to mark their final season of high school soccer. With the success that eight seniors experienced during their previous season, it would be easy to lose the focus of whom they were really playing for – “The Audience of One.” Senior captains, Katie Cook, Nina Finelli, and Amanda Najjar, set a tone of unity throughout the entire program. Other seniors, Leslie Adams, Leah Arnold, Kate Flenniken, Adrienne Moncrief, and Chelsea Smith helped make it another memorable season. Coming off the most successful season in team history and only losing a couple of players, there were high expectations of continued growth as a team. The offense, with all its players returning, didn’t disappoint as they set the record for goals in a season with 63. Another goal this year was winning the Tri-County League, which had eluded the team for 10 years. They won it in dominating fashion, going 6-0 in the league and finally beating nemesis St. Thomas Aquinas.

The season concluded with yet another dramatic playoff run. The Lady Royals would land in a very difficult district containing six district finalists, three regional finalists, and the state/national champs (Walsh) from the year before. First came perennial district champion and regional finalist Chagrin Falls whom the Lady Royals knocked out in the first round. Then came friendly arch-rival St. Vincent/St. Mary, who had defeated the Lady Royals earlier in the season. The game would go to overtime with the Lady Royals winning on a golden goal for the third year in a row in the sectional final. Next would be Revere, a very good team that had played in a district final in D1 the year before. While Revere was the better team, the Lady Royals were able to send it into overtime, but would experience losing themselves on a golden goal as their season ended in the district semi-final. Future teams will be challenged to focus on whom they are playing for and meeting the expectations that have been set by those before.