St. Anthony's girls soccer wins fifth straight state title
Ashley Kozlowski of St. Anthony's, right, and Avrie Nelson celebrate after Nelson scored a goal during the CHSAA girls soccer state championship on Sunday, Nov. 13, 2022, at Aviator Sports Complex in Brooklyn. Credit: Neil Miller
While continuing to pursue their historic run of dominance, the St. Anthony’s girls soccer team decided to turn a song they heard recently, into their theme for the season.
The tune? None other than “Unstoppable” by Australian music star Sia.
On Sunday afternoon, the Friars exemplified the song's title as they defeated St. Mary’s (Lancaster), 6-0, in the CHSAA Class AA state final at Aviator Field in Brooklyn. The victory resulted in their fifth consecutive state championship.
“I couldn’t be happier for the seniors and this whole team,” said senior Ashley Kozlowski, who had one goal and one assist, after scoring three goals in Saturday's semifinal. “It’s great to finish strong, as always…This whole team was dynamic, everything about it. It’s just never going to compare to anything else, really.”
Kozlowski opened the scoring with 23:43 remaining in the first half, knocking in a loose ball following a corner kick. Daniela Monzon fired in a free-kick goal from about 20 yards out just six minutes later. Samantha Markey then tapped in a rebound off another corner kick with 14:03 left before halftime, giving St. Anthony’s (15-2-2) a commanding 3-0 advantage.
“It’s really amazing,” Markey said. “We came in after losing a lot of our good seniors, but we knew that if we played as a team and pulled through, we were confident as a team that we could accomplish this.”
Leana Ruiz, Avrie Nelsen and Lauren Fisher added second-half goals.
Monzon, also a senior along with Markey, highlighted what she’ll miss most about the dynasty the Friars have built.
“The whole team,” Monzon said. “That’s what I’m going to miss the most. Whether it was a good day or a bad day, we were always there to cheer each other on. I’ll just miss them.”
After hearing the song for the first time in the car earlier this season, St. Anthony’s coach Sue Alber decided to start playing it for her team. It quickly caught on and became their newest tradition. She commended her players for how they performed on the biggest stage in order to cement a half-decade of dominance.
“All season long we spoke about how we wanted to be remembered and how we wanted to end this chapter,” Alber said. “And the girls did just that, leaving another legacy at St. Anthony’s and winning another championship.
“Today was the day to be your best and we certainly were — unstoppable.”
