“It was the happiest, I think I’ve ever been, in this entire season.”
11 seconds left, one starter out, and a sisterhood bond to seal a goal-winning goal. Traveling into Kokomo for their first shot of a regional championship title in at least 13 years, HSE Royals and Homestead Spartans take on this competition on October 18th.
Concluding first half, royals fell behind 0-1 against Homesteads consistent defending and tough playing style. Senior HSE girls’ soccer player Sloane May stated that “We weren’t down but we were definitely nervous going into second half because we’ve never been down a goal at half.”
Going into second half, Kherington Patton was able to score a well-fought box battle and push royals up to a tie. This dynamic stayed for most of the half, and just when royals started to get a lead, Sydney May had an incident that resulted in her being pulled from the game entirely. With being down a starter, royals started to struggle and hope on a victory began to cast over parents and spectators.
Sloane May expressed that “Seeing her on the bench was upsetting but I knew that no matter who we brought in if we took enough shots we would be able to score.” Despite this, the team stayed positive and loud. Needing a miracle, Sloane gets possession of the ball. With tough work and aggressive offense, she scores a goal with a mere 11 seconds left. As the game gets reset, the excitement grows within the stadium and the bench. Once the ball was in play and passed over to Homesteads side, everyone knew the game was over. As the team rushed the field, Sydney May, still at the sideline, was celebrating for not only the team, but for her sister.
As Sloane shares a hug and emotional moment with Coach Davidson and later Sydney, the rest of the team celebrates with tears, smiles, and a regional championship trophy. Sloane concluded by saying “I’m just so proud of the girls because this season we’ve had our minds set straight and not let anyone take a win from us.” She also adds that “all of us work so hard in practice and we work on those key things and strategizing and so all those hours we’ve spent and all of those mornings we’ve opened up that have been really cold or really early and all that dedication has been paying off and helped move us toward that goal of winning state.”
With a regional championship now acquired by HSE Girls Soccer, their state game awaits with passion and dedication at the state champion title.