RIDGELAND – The Sacred Heart Lady Crusaders were so eager to claim their third straight 1A/2A/3A State Championship, they had to be ushered off the field twice for premature celebration.
It wasn’t their fault, though, as confusion between the clock operator and the on-field referee allowed the clock to hit zero with the sound of the horn twice, which prompted the celebration. After both teams were pushed off the field, a few more seconds and a last-ditch effort from St. Andrews, the Lady ’Saders claimed the 2-1 overtime decision to win their third straight State Championship – it’s fifth in school history.
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“The first time we ran onto the field, I was telling everybody, ‘Y’all, he never blew the whistle,’” junior Jessica Hyde said of the first celebration. “I know they keep time on the field, but everybody just kept coming, so I was like, ‘Maybe he did blow the whistle.’ Then I started crying.”
Hyde, along with her teammates, had to wipe away their tears of joy, though, and the St. Andrew players had to shake off the feeling of defeat only to have the same confusion a minute later.
The third time was the charm, however, because after restarting the game twice, the referee blew the final whistle to signal a Sacred Heart State Championship.
“The second time, I was like, ‘The same thing happened again,’” Hyde said. “‘Y’all get off the field. It’s fine. We got this. It’s literally four seconds we have to get through.’ When he finally blew the whistle, I knew it was (over), for sure. I started crying and immediately found (senior) Mariana (Moreno) and gave her a big hug.”
Hyde made a huge impact defensively. As St. Andrews pressured the Lady Crusaders’ defense, Hyde used her body to deflect shots and she won the ball away from St. Andrews’ attackers throughout the match.
“I have all the faith in the world in Jill Hall, our keeper,” Hyde said. “She’s the best keeper in the world. But, we have two center backs – me and Jasmine (Gibbs). I’m more of a sweeper type and she’s plays a stopper, so I’m always further back waiting for the ball to come to me so I can get it out of there. That’s my role on the team.”
The game didn’t exactly start the way Sacred Heart has grown accustom to in its past State Championships. St. Andrews’ Phoebe Xu put the Lady Saints on the board in the sixth minute, scoring from 20 yards out on the left side.
The Lady Crusaders had opportunities in the second half, but couldn’t convert. Eighth-grader Gracie Falla sent a 40-yard free kick toward the goal in the 14th minute, but the shot was saved.
“My message to the them was, ‘We’ve always been 2-1, 2-0 down, but that’s nothing new for us. Let’s go play our game, and we’re going to get it down,’” Sacred Heart coach Joe “Papa” Falla said.
Sacred Heart outshot St. Andrews 5-2 in the first half, but the Lady ’Saders only had one shot on goal. St. Andrews’ only shot on goal was Xu’s score.
In the second half, Falla was fouled after a St. Andrews’ player held Falla’s shirt when she tried to breakaway. Sophomore Gabby Falla, Gracie’s sister, didn’t like the St. Andrews defender roughing up her sister. After saying a few words to her opponent, she blasted the 30-yard free kick in-between the keeper’s hands and the crossbar to tie the game 1-1.
“That’s my sister. I look out for her, for sure,” Gabby Falla said. “That girl was nagging at her the whole time, and I’m glad I could finally do something to help her out. To me, that spoke louder than any words.”
The two played evenly throughout the rest of the second half and most of the first overtime, but Gracie Falla was ready to end it. In the final seconds, she sent a shot toward the goal from outside the numbers of Titans Stadium and the ball finished off the right post into the goal.
“That was a World Cup shot,” Papa said. “That’s all I can tell you. My heart went back in place then. That was the greatest.”
