Class 2A Girls Soccer State Championship
Final | Guerin Catholic 1, Leo 0
INDIANAPOLIS – The third time proved to be the charm for Guerin Catholic.
After falling in the state title games in 2017 and 2020 (both in Class 3A), the Golden Eagles claimed the school’s first state championship with a 1-0 victory over Leo in the Class 2A title tilt.
Junior Gabby Deer’s goal in the 36th minute proved to be the only score of the contest, but with the way the GC defense dominated the game, it was enough.
“It wasn’t just tonight,” GC coach Sean Yau said of the stellar defense. “It’s been all season that we’ve been incredibly organized and solid, defensively. Leo has a great, high-scoring offense, so all week we concentrated on working on staying in front of the ball and in front of their scorers.”
The victory for the third-ranked Golden Eagles capped off a 16-4-1 campaign that surely erased the sting of a 7-8-2 record in 2022. En route to the state title, Guerin Catholic beat the Nos. 1, 2 and 5 ranked teams during the state tournament, the took out two-time defending-champion and eighth-ranked Evansville Memorial in the semi-state.
“Many of these girls last year were sophomores and juniors,” Yau said, “and when we lost in the sectional last year, we told them to remember that feeling … that feeling we don’t want to experience again. All season long, we trained and played like we would be state champs.
“It feels so good to get that monkey off this program’s back.”
For Leo (15-3-3), the loss is the second-straight year the Lions have fallen in the state final.
“We knew coming in this wouldn’t be a high-scoring game,” Leo coach Mike Bitler said. “It’s difficult because these girls have worked so hard, and this senior class has been a big part of what we’ve done in my five years here. I want them to hold their heads up high because they have cemented themselves in our school’s history.”
Guerin took command of the play right from the start and held an 11-2 shots advantage during the first half. Neither of the Leo shots were on goal.
The Golden Eagles finally broke through with just over four minutes left in the half when Deer picked up a loose ball in front of the Leo net and converted amongst three defenders.
“I saw (Leo’s) back line ran up and the ball hit off someone,” Deer explained. “I knew I had to go get it and saw the goalkeeper come out.”
Deer beat the Lions’ keeper to the lower right corner. Katherine Constantin was credited with the assist.
Leo did pick up on offense during the first 20 minutes of the second half, but never could get a serious shot off on GC keeper Olivia Eaton. She played the second half and combined for the shutout with Taylor Beard, who played the first.
The Golden Eagles finished with a 19-6 advantage in shots (only two of Leo’s six were on goal) and GC held a 6-0 advantage in corner kicks.
Guerin Catholic’s Constantino receives Wynns Mental Attitude Award
Following the match, Katherine Constantino of Guerin Catholic High School was named the recipient of the Theresia Wynns Mental Attitude Award.
Constantino has served as a youth referee for US Soccer for two years, viewing it as an opportunity to foster her love for the sport among young enthusiasts. As a member of the National Honor Society, she serves as a peer tutor, helping underclassmen to excel academically. She also donates her time to the school farm, which provides produce to local homeless shelters.
An academic all-state honoree, the senior maintains a weighted 4.3 GPA. She has been a four-year member of the soccer team and has participated three years in lacrosse and one year in girls cross country.
The daughter of Jeff and Nicole Constantino of Carmel, Ind., Katherine intends to study Biomedical Engineering at Purdue University.
The award is annually presented to a senior, who is nominated by her principal and coach, and has demonstrated excellence in mental attitude, scholarship, leadership, and athletic ability during her four years of high school. The award is named in honor of Theresia Wynns, who served as an IHSAA assistant commissioner from 1997-2012 and administered the sports of girls and boys soccer as well as the licensing of over 8,000 officials in the state of Indiana.
Indiana Farm Bureau Insurance, a proud corporate partner of the IHSAA, presented a $1,000 scholarship to the general scholarship fund at Guerin Catholic High School in the name of Katherine Constantino.