Having already put together a fine regular season, the Conquerors entered this week's State Tournament as the #2 seed. Their semi-final opponent was Gramercy, a school which they had beaten both times this season in close games. The plan for victory was simple: stop Carlee Bock, the Warriors' higly skilled Senior midfielder. Unlike in the first meeting of the year, in which Carlee scored four goals, JCA was able to minimize her touches and force her to give up the ball when she did receive it. The plan worked, as forwards Kaylea Goodson and Victoria Martin scored 1 and 2 goals, respectively, to provide the Conquerors with a 3-0 victory. Midfielders Brianna Jackson and Kristina Sherman provided the assists. In the other semi-final matchup, Coastal Christian High School defeated Living Water 7-1.

      In the Championship Match, the Conquerors faced the Coastal Centurions, a team which had defeated them 5-0 in their only previous encounter two weeks ago. The task ahead seemed almost insurmountable for the young Conquerors, nearly all of whom are 9th grade or below. Not only would have to slow down Chelsea Frankeney, the state's leading scorer, but they would also have to find a way to crack Coastal's top-ranked defense. For the first ten minutes, it appeared as if things were going well. JCA's right wing was pinching in to take away the passing lane to Frankeney, a move which, while effective, gave Coastal the entire left sideline in which to work. Just then, Coastal countered quickly and Chelsea got the corner, beat the outside back, and fired a low, hard shot into the net for the opening score.

      JCA responded well, however, and created several quality scoring opportunites using a combination of pressure and great passing. A handball in the box, whistled against the Conquerors, resulted in a PK for Coastal, which they converted for a 2-0 lead. Still, JCA refused to quit. For nearly the rest of the half the two teams battled for possession. With 5 minutes left in the half, Kaylea Goodson received a pass from Brianna Jackson and blasted a low, hard shot just inside the near post. The goal breathed new life into the tiring Conquerors and lifted their spirits going into halftime.

      The first ten minutes of the second half were evenly played, as it appeared that JCA began to realize that they could compete with the Centurions. Frankeney struck again, increasing Coastal's lead to 3-1. With about 12 minutes remaining in the match, a quick counter by the Conquerors resulted in another goal by Kaylea, assisted by Victoria Martin. The final minutes of the match saw both team's come close to scoring and JCA keeper Reagan Vaughan made several key saves to keep hope alive. When the final whistle blew both teams came off the field feeling like winners. Congratulations to the Coastal Centurions for their hard-fought victory and the first State title in conference history. Congratulations also goes out to JCA for their wonderful performance. Kristina Sherman, Kaylea Goodson, and Reagan Vaughan were named to the All-Tournament team. Great job girls and with nearly everyone returning, we're looking forward to another great season next year!