Soaring Eagle soccer brings home first state championship

Intermountain Catholic

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The 2009 Class 3A state champions (above) pose with their trophy after the championship game at Rio Tinto Stadium.

DRAPER — For the 2009 Juan Diego girls soccer team, the third time was a charm. On Oct. 24, they took home the Class 3A state championship after a tight game against Morgan at Rio Tinto Stadium.

It was the first state title for the team in school history, despite the squad reaching the final game in 2006 and 2007.

"It feels amazing to finally have that state championship after four years of being so close to winning," said senior Madi Harper. "Every single girl contributed to the win and that is something that you do not see on any other team. Our team is one of a kind and I am so fortunate to be surrounded by such a hard-working group of girls."

Senior captain Shannon Kelliher agreed. "This season was really awesome because we united as a team to the point where we truly became a family, which made winning state that much more meaningful.""

Ten of the team’s seniors reached the semifinals in the past three years and the finals two of those three years. This year, the Soaring Eagle team followed in the footsteps of its predecessors, handily taking the Region 11 championship. In state play, they defeated Grantsville 13-0 and Canyon View 4-0 to reach the semifinals, where they shut out Bear River 5-0.

Against Morgan, the game was scoreless until the 33rd minute, when freshman Emily Bruder scored off an assist from Vicki Shimkus. Bruder’s goal would prove to be the only score in the game. Bruder has been the team’s leading scorer, with 25 goals in the season.

The squad finished the year with only one loss, at the hands of Judge Memorial. Their two ties were against Jordan and Bingham.

"We have worked really hard the last four years and it is awesome that we could finally take it all the way," said senior captain Anna Jung. We are really close as a team and every single person on the team are friends on and off the field, seniors to freshmen, and that really helped us in the long run."