The REPORTER
The Guerin Catholic girls soccer team will get another chance for a state title on Friday Night.
The Golden Eagles travel to Michael Carroll Stadium at IUPUI that evening for the Class 2A state championship game. Guerin Catholic, the No. 3-ranked team in 2A, plays No. 5-ranked Leo at 6 p.m., with the 1A girls state championship game between Fort Wayne Canterbury and Park Tudor to follow.
Guerin Catholic is back at state for the first time since 2020, while the Lions are making a state appearance for the second consecutive year. Leo fell to Evansville Memorial 4-0 in last season’s 2A state championship game.
The Lions are 15-2-3, including a runner-up finish in the Northeast Eight Conference, where they went 6-1. Leo hosted its own sectional, first beating Culver Academies 4-0 in the semifinals, then edging out No. 7 Bishop Dwenger in penalty kicks for the championship.
Leo traveled to Oak Hill for the regional semifinal, where it cruised past Oak Hill 4-0. The Lions then faced No. 4 Bellmont for the regional championship at Norwell, winning that game 1-0. Leo headed west to the Chesterton semi-state last Saturday, and beat No. 12 Mishawaka Marian 1-0 to return to the 2A state title game.
The Lions’ offense is led by senior forward Taylor Swygart, who has scored 17 goals for the season. Another senior forward, Ella Graves has scored 14 goals and dished out 11 assists, giving her 39 offensive points for the season. Swygart has handed out three assists, giving her 37 points. Sophomore midfielder Maddie Schwalm has 11 assists and nine goals. Senior goalkeeper Sam Christle has made 53 saves, and has a 0.578 goals against average with 11 shutouts.
Everyone ranked
Guerin Catholic had an incredibly tough route to state, as the Golden Eagles played a ranked team in each post-season game. That started at the Speedway sectional, where Guerin beat No. 1-ranked Brebeuf Jesuit in penalty kicks for a semifinal game. The reward was a date with No. 2 Bishop Chatard in the championship; but the Golden Eagles won 2-1.
Since then, Guerin Catholic has not allowed a goal in its previous three games. The Golden Eagles won a regional semifinal at No. 19 Tri-West 3-0, beat No. 10 Lawrenceburg 2-0 to win the championship at the Bishop Chatard regional, then took care of No. 8 Evansville Memorial 1-0 for the Evansville North semi-state championship.
Senior midfielder Alex Soucie leads the way in scoring, with 13 goals and 11 assists (37 points). Next in line is senior midfielder Annabel Wright with 11 goals and seven assists (29 points), while junior defender Mia Gatz has 10 assists and five goals for 20 points. Senior goalkeeper Taylor Beard has 49 saves and 13 shutouts, with a goal against average of 0.875.
Previous state appearances
This will be the fourth state finals appearance for the Golden Eagles. Guerin Catholic reached state for the first time in 2010, the last year of the one-class soccer tournament. The Golden Eagles fell to Columbus North 2-1, 4-2 in penalty kicks.
Guerin Catholic went to state in 2017, which was the first year of the three-class tournament. The Golden Eagles were playing in 3A that year, falling 2-0 to an undefeated Penn team in the championship game. Three years later in 2020, the Golden Eagles took on Noblesville in the state title game and lost 3-0 to the unbeaten Millers.