St. Anthony's girls soccer wins to reach state CHSAA championship game
Braylin Nelsen #29 of St. Anthony's gets congratulated by teammates after scoring a goal against St. Joseph by the Sea in the second half of the CHSAA Class AA girls soccer state semifinals at St. Anthony's High School on Saturday, Nov. 9, 2024. Credit: James Escher
For 18 seniors, including midfielder Elliana Dos Santos, it was their final game on the St. Anthony’s soccer pitch.
They vowed that it wouldn’t also be their final minutes for the Friars.
St. Anthony’s scored early and often, with Dos Santos scoring two and assisting on two of the Friars’ six first-half goals to lead St. Anthony’s to an 8-0 win over Archdiocese of New York champion St. Joseph by the Sea in the state CSHAA class AA semifinals in Huntington Saturday afternoon.
“It was very exciting to come out so strong in the beginning especially on our own turf,” Dos Santos said. “I think that definitely pushed us even more because it’s a special moment for us, win or lose, but we were going to win.”
Once the Friars (16-1-1) started, they couldn’t be stopped. After ten minutes of play, sophomore forward Olivia Shaw took a long ball from defender Gracie Sanders and dribbled to the right corner before firing a shot to the top left corner of the net. Dos Santos followed with two back-to-back goals from passes by Shaw for a 3-0 lead with 18:08 left in the first half.
“When I saw the chance to score, I just took it,” Shaw said. “We knew how we had to play today and what this was for and were going to take every chance we could to score fast.”
Two minutes later, Dos Santos dished a high ball to senior Avrie Nelsen, who dribbled out of the way of a defender and goalkeeper Lana Bartow before sending it into an empty net. With 8:19 left, Dos Santos took the ball 30 yards down the field and towards the net, where Emily DeSousa deked out a defender and fired the Friars’ fifth goal.
“We have so many talented individuals that when we get everyone to work together, there's really no stopping us,” Shaw said. “We worked hard in practice and outside of school to bond and it translates to the field when we play.”
Braylin Nelsen tacked on a goal two minutes later for a 6-0 halftime lead. She added another goal early in the second half before Lindsey Moy added the final goal with 24 minutes to play. Jules Mosca stopped two shots for the Friars.
Bartow made eight saves for St. Joseph by the Sea, which finished 16-2-1.
The Friars advanced to the finals at St. John’s University Sunday at 5 p.m., where they will face Archdiocese of Buffalo champion St. Mary’s. St. Anthony’s has won six straight championships and two state crowns prior to last season, when the undefeated Friars lost to Sacred Heart Academy, 2-0, in the CHSAA league title game.
“Everyone knows what needs to happen,” Dos Santos said. “Everyone is ready.”
