Gilbert girls soccer team falls to Bishop Heelan in 1A state championship game
Trelyn White could not believe what she had just done.
With just over 25 minutes left in the second half, the Bishop Heelan Catholic forward had just scored her second goal against Gilbert in the Class 1A championship game of the girls state soccer tournament Saturday.
White raced through the Gilbert defense in the middle of the field, got just outside the goalie box and drilled a shot by Tigers keeper Braelyn Thomas from 10 yards out for her second goal of the game.
"After the second one I was just so excited I didn't know what to do," White said. "Scoring in the championship just makes you feel so good."
White's two goals proved to be the difference in a 2-0 Bishop Heelan victory.
The Crusaders finished an improbable run as the 7-seed to claim their second state championship in school history. Bishop Heelan upset No. 2 Nevada in a 1-0 battle during the quarterfinals then dominated old rival Davenport Assumption by a 4-1 score in the semifinals before downing Gilbert to finish as state champions with an 18-3 record.
"We've been waiting for this the entire season," White said. "We finally got it."
White scored her first goal at the 6:27 mark in the first half when she was able to use her speed to just get by the Gilbert defense and slip one by Thomas on a slide kick.
"I didn't know it was going to go in," White said. "I was thinking it's 50-50, I'm going to shoot it and I was like...oh my gosh! First goal of the game. It was so exciting."
Gilbert coach Danny Jones said White was the deciding factor Saturday.
"She's fast and quicker with her moves than anybody we've seen this year," Jones said. "She was obviously a difference maker in this game."
More: Gilbert's Connor Rash's breakout performance helps the Tigers win their first boys state soccer title
The Tigers hung tough in the first half. They had a golden opportunity with 7 1/2 minutes before the break when a ball deflected back to forward Sydney Lynch and she got off a great look from right around the 18.
The ball was headed straight into the net, but Crusader keeper Lauren LaFleur stretched out and knocked the ball away at the last second.
"Phenomenal save by their goalie," Jones said. "She took all six feet whatever and her fingertips to get it. That goes in and it's a different story."
Gilbert finished the season at 14-6. The Tigers ended up with three players named to the 1A all-tournament team in Lynch, semifinal hero Elle O'Brien and senior midfielder Nora Kalvik.
The Tigers slipped under the radar for most of the season, but they peaked at exactly the right time.
Gilbert blanked East Sac County (8-0), Garner-Hayfield/Ventura (9-0) and No. 11 Dike-New Hartford (4-0) in regionals then topped Underwood (2-0) and defending champion Des Moines Christian (1-0 in double-overtime) to reach the finals.
"There was no quit in these girls," Jones said. "This and the 2019 team might be the mentally toughest teams we've ever had. To come from where we did last year...I'm sad because it's over, but I'm so happy to have had this experience. I'm so proud of these girls, this team and this coaching staff and everything we do here at Gilbert to get to this point. We've taken this program in a year nobody expected us to get to this game but us, and there were only two teams left and we were one of them."
This article originally appeared on Ames Tribune: Gilbert comes up short in 1A girls state soccer title game
