SANDY — No dramatic finish was needed from Waterford this time around.

The Ravens took home a 3A girls soccer championship a year ago by surviving a protracted shootout with Park City in the championship game. Facing St. Joseph in the 2A title game, Waterford resolved to not let history repeat itself.

Things worked out according to plan for the Ravens. Hailey Karg scored a goal in each half, and Waterford stayed in control throughout en route to claiming a 3-1 victory over the Jayhawks and its third state title in four seasons on Saturday at Rio Tinto Stadium.

"Our goal was to get a goal in the first half," Karg said. "We happened to get two. We wanted to get those early because we know once St. Joseph gets going, their confidence keeps growing. We saw that in the semifinals ...."

Karg helped the Ravens seize control early. The senior forward scored the first of her two goals in the 15th minute to give Waterford a 1-0 lead. That advantage quickly ballooned to 2-0 in the 24th minute when Kristen Johnson lofted up a floater, just outside the top of the area, which reached the back of the net over the arm of Jayhawks keeper Molly Porter.

Just like it did against Millard in the semifinals a day earlier, St. Joseph struggled to find much of a rhythm on offense during the first half. The Jayhawks came out in a defensive formation — running a single forward instead of their usual three — and the Ravens took full advantage by pushing play into St. Joseph's half of the field.

In the second half, the Jayhawks switched things up and went at Waterford with three forwards and started controlling possession of the ball more often. A different approach did not yield a change in results on the field.

Karg boosted the Ravens' lead to 3-0 at the end of a counterattack in the 60th minute. Flanked by a defender on either side, she cut into the penalty area and unleashed a runner that bounced inside the left post.