St. Anthony's girls soccer wins sixth straight CHSAA AA championship

The St. Anthony’s girls soccer team was reminded this season that nothing was guaranteed. The previous success of the program is fantastic, but that doesn’t affect the scoreboard at the start of each contest.

The Friars lost a regular-season contest to Sacred Heart this season — their first league loss since 2015. But on Thursday, nothing mattered besides what happened between those lines at Farmingdale State. And after 80 minutes, top-seeded St. Anthony’s left with a 1-0 victory over No. 3 Sacred Heart to win its sixth straight girls soccer Nassau-Suffolk CHSAA  AA title.

But this year’s Friars team doesn’t necessarily view it as winning the title “again.”

“Again is a strong word,” senior goalkeeper Madalyn Salkowsky said. “Every year is a new team and we have to learn how to be together again and that being together is what gets us here. The wanting it more than anyone else does is how we continue to stay on top.”

The Friars used that previous loss as additional motivation in the final. 

“Just because we’re at St. Anthony’s doesn’t mean anything’s guaranteed,” forward Ashley Kozlowski said. “We have to work for it. Nothing’s guaranteed and losing definitely showed us that. That gave us fire and we wanted to show who runs this league.”

St. Anthony’s (13-2-2) advances to the state CHSAA  AA semifinals, which will be played at Aviator Field in Brooklyn at 1 p.m. on Nov. 12. The Friars have won the last four state titles. Sacred Heart finished 11-4-1.

Avrie Nelsen, a sophomore, scored the game’s lone goal with 24:22 left in the second half. She gathered up a bouncing loose ball near the 18-yard box, dribbled right, turned and scored.

“You just have to put everything out on the field and that’s what I did today,” Nelsen said. “You have to take advantage of your opportunities, especially in front of the net and in a tight game like this, a championship game. So that’s what I did.”

Salkowsky had seven saves, none bigger than her diving stop with 6:10 left in the second half to preserve the victory.

“I got a couple fingers on it on my top hand and I was happy I could get there,” Salkowsky said. “I’m happy the defense was able to stay composed before then. They did their job and it was time for me to do mine. Had to have it, for sure.”

Coach Sue Alber continuously preached to her players the importance of thinking about how they wanted to be remembered. Sure, the previous success is great for the program — but it's up to each class to carry on that legacy.

“It’s hard to keep winning title after title after title,” Alber said. “Every year, like college soccer, the team changes, that whole dynamic changes. But from Day 1, we kept telling the seniors in the class, ‘How do you want to end your chapter? How do you want to write your book and what do you want to leave behind for the next class?' ”

Sacred Heart coach Peter Bralower was proud of the fight his team showed both in the final and throughout the season, especially in their matchups against the powerhouse St. Anthony’s program. The Spartans lost two 1-0 contests and recorded a 3-2 victory against St. Anthony's in an 11-win year.

“I’m just happy we played our best soccer the last three weeks of the season,” Bralower said. “I’m proud of the girls and I’m proud of the program.”

The Friars seniors have at least one more — and they hope two more — games to cement their legacy with other St. Anthony’s greats.

“We have another week to prepare, we’ll have to see what’s ahead of us,” Alber said. “But I think the future’s looking good for this senior class.”