Saxony Lutheran girls soccer team wins program's first state championship

BLUE SPRINGS, Mo. -- Multiple members of the Saxony Lutheran girls soccer team and coach Garrett Fritsche couldn't put into words what they were feeling after Saturday's Class 1 state championship game.

Junior Tess Daniel called it "indescribable" while junior Grace Mirly and Fritsche each said the realization that the Crusaders had just won their first state title in program history hadn't completely washed over them.

Junior Brianna Mueller, on the other hand, had an overwhelming amount of feelings on her team's 5-0 victory over Father Tolton for the championship.

"There's like a million emotions -- you're excited. This is crazy. This is unreal, and I just get to share it with my favorite people in the entire world," Mueller said with a huge smile on her face. "It's just like we've been in this position before, and we've never been able to finish. And we finally pulled through and can say that we have something to show for it."

Saxony Lutheran junior Taylor Fritsche, right, is congratulaed by teamates after scoring the Crusaders third goal in their 5-0 Class 1 state championship win over Father Tolton High School Saturday afternoon, June 6, 2015, in Blue Springs. (Kit Doyle ~ Special to the Southeast Missourian)

This year was the first time Saxony advanced out of districts in soccer, but several juniors on the team played in a basketball final four two years ago and finished fourth.

Mueller, who had three assists, credits the team's closeness for their dominating performances en route to Saturday's win.

"It's playoff time, and we're playing the best team ball ever," Mueller said. "That's why we're winning these games is because we're playing so unselfish. We're all on the same page, and we just want to play for each other and hopefully come out with a win. And that's what we got."

It took the Crusaders just 1 minute, 44 seconds to score what proved to be the game-winning goal against the Trailblazers, who they'd already defeated 2-1 earlier in the season.

Mueller drove a low corner kick in that Daniel slipped past goalkeeper Hana Dietz at the near post.

"Based on the last game we played Tolton, we kind of knew what we had to fix and a lot of it was our finishing," Fritsche said. "Today right off the get-go, Tess made a great shot. That was an unbelievable shot off a corner."

The Crusaders' jitters coming into the game were erased with that goal, and it allowed them to settle in and focus on possession.

"When we have corner kicks, we've always been told to just hit it, just go through it and just hit it. That's pretty much all I did," Daniel said. "I just saw the ball and just threw my body at it and hoped that it would go in."

Saxony Lutheran junior Logan Meyr (6) holds off Father Tolton's Madalyn Wells during the Class 1 state championship game Saturday afternoon, June 6, 2015, in Blue Springs. Saxony won 5-0. (Kit Doyle ~ Special to the Southeast Missourian)

Saxony added to its lead in the 30th minute when Mirly knocked a rebound in off a free kick from Mueller that Dietz dropped.

Less than three minutes later junior Taylor Fritsche put one in the back of the net from about 15 yards out to extend the lead to 3-0 after Mueller chipped it over the defense to Fritsche in the left of the box.

The Crusaders capped their dominating first half with a goal with 38 seconds left before the break.

Mueller gained control of the ball about 40 yards away from the goal and threaded a ball low through the Trailblazers' defense that freshman Laurel Mueller ran onto down the right side and one-touched it past the goalie into the left side of the net.

Junior Heather Wills hit one past Dietz from inside 10 yards with 16:16 remaining in the game for the final score. Freshman Courtney Kester assisted on the play.

"We always say like, 'Anybody can be beaten on any given day, and it's hard to beat a team twice,'" Mirly said, "so we were just like, 'They can beat us, that can be an option, so we're not going to let down for one second.' We didn't and that's why it was 5-0."

Saxony controlled possession for much of the game and played keep away from the Trailblazers throughout much of the second half, mixing in all of its reserves over the final 40 minutes.

Saxony Lutheran await their Class 1 state championship trophy and medals Saturday afternoon, June 6, 2015, in Blue Springs. Saxony won 5-0. (Kit Doyle ~ Special to the Southeast Missourian)

Father Tolton had three shots -- two on goal -- in the entire game with both shots being hit straight to junior goalkeeper Raegan Wieser. The Crusaders recorded their 17th shutout of the season.

"Once again that was awesome," Fritsche said of the defense. "And the couple chances that Tolton had -- I don't even get worried anymore. I have complete confidence no matter what that they're going to get the job done, and as a coach, that's great. There's a few times where I should've been jumping up and down, but you just know that they're going to do something to get it out. Then with Raegan back there, they got a couple shots on but she's always there -- right place, right time every time."

Saxony finished its championship season with a record of 24-2 while Father Tolton's runner-up finish ended its season at 20-7. The Crusaders won their final 19 games of the year.

"It hasn't quite hit me yet. It's just amazing," Fritsche said. "It's been a long three months, but it was all worth it. This is awesome."