Late penalty-kick goal propels Bishops to title

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Girls soccer championships

The Bishop England girls soccer team won its eighth straight Class AA-A state title with a 2-1 victory over Christ Church today at Memorial Stadium.

COLUMBIA — The Bishop England girls soccer team won its eighth straight Class AA-A state title with a 2-1 victory over Christ Church on Friday afternoon at Memorial Stadium.

The Bishops' Lizzie Daly scored in the fourth minute of the match, and Elizabeth Miller scored on a penalty kick in the 65th minute after the Cavaliers were called for a hand ball.

What was running through the junior Miller's mind as she lined up her shot?

"I just had to make it," she said. "If I didn't, who knows what would happen? It could have gone either way if I didn't score. They're a great team. I just wanted our seniors to go out as winners."

The Bishops finished with a 17-3-1 record, while Christ Church ended with a 15-6 record.

Bishop England coach Dave Snyder said eight wasn't enough, and he wants to bring his squad back next year for another title.

"That's eight straight. But for most of these girls, this is the game, this is the moment," Snyder said. "I have to tell you, for me, this is the moment. I get equally excited every season. I hope I can motivate these girls to get back here next year. That's what I'm going to try to do."

The Bishops dominated in the first half, with 11 shots to the Cavaliers' one.

But the Cavaliers had hope at intermission, trailing only 1-0.

"I told the girls we would have the breeze at our backs (in the second half), and maybe we could get a couple of chances to get the ball through," Christ Church coach Chris Nichols said. "But their defense is tough to crack. Breaking that defense is tough. They have been playing together for so long, and they know how to play."

Christ Church got the break it needed in the 50th minute when Alyssa Althoff scored on a free kick from 25 yards.

"Once we got that goal and got it tied, we felt we were controlling the momentum," Nichols said. "Let's build on that. It's unfortunate that it came down to a hand ball."

Snyder was pleased with the victory and was happy with the unity his squad demonstrated during the season.

"We had a lot of injuries," he said. "We had a lot of younger players we're still trying to orient. I'm proud of how the older girls helped the younger ones along in the process. That will help us reload for next year, hopefully.

"This was a special victory," Snyder added. "We take each game as a unique thing. Each team is different. Each format is different. We played on a smaller field against a scrappy team. They had some quality players on that side."

And on the other side, Bishop England was accepting another state championship trophy.