2A high school soccer championship: Undefeated St. Joseph claims state soccer crown

SANDY — A torn Achilles tendon robbed St. Joseph goalkeeper Bree Demar of a chance to show what she could do last season. Facing Waterford in a shootout Saturday gave the junior her chance to shine.

Demar made the most of it when she faced Taylor Ritzman, the second kicker for the Ravens. If there was one player she wanted to stop from converting a penalty kick, it was Ritzman.

"That was the one I was worried about was her," Demar said. "She's an amazing player."

Demar proved amazing too, knocking down Ritzman's shot and turning the tide in a 3-1 shootout victory for St. Joseph at Rio Tinto Stadium on a cold and rainy autumn afternoon. The Jayhawks (16-0-1) claimed their second 2A girls soccer title in three seasons and avenged a title game loss to Waterford (10-6-1) a year ago.

With that one save, Demar helped swing momentum back in the direction of St. Joseph. The Jayhawks had fallen behind 1-0 early in the shootout when Ravens goalkeeper Jeannie Woller converted her kick against Demar.

It wasn't the ideal start for her, but Demar convinced herself that how she finished is what mattered most.

"I just had to shake it off," Demar said. "It's just one goal. It's not every goal. It's not like the whole shootout."

Demar took care of things on her end and her teammates made sure those efforts did not go for naught on the other end.

Natalia Behnken and Emily Brandt each scored to put the Jayhawks ahead. Ivee Barton clinched the victory — and the state title — when she sent a volley into the upper right corner out of Woller's reach.

Even after she made the shot, it took a moment for Barton to fully grasp the complete impact of her play.

"I actually didn't know if I would have made it, we would have won," Barton said. "So it was a surprise to me when everybody was running toward me. I thought that we still had to have one more kicker."

Waterford had lost to St. Joseph twice in convincing fashion — once in the regular season and again in the Region 14 championship game. The Ravens were much more ready for the Jayhawks this time around.

Ritzman dropped back from her usual forward spot to the defender slot she occupied a year ago. It helped Waterford keep the potent St. Joseph offense in check and positioned the defending 2A champions to almost hand the Jayhawks their first loss in 2010.