Winning a Washington Catholic Athletic Conference championship was nothing new for the seniors on O’Connell’s girls soccer team. After all, every one of them played for the Knights as sophomores in 2004 when they last won the league title.
But this one felt a little different. Sunday’s dramatic 2-2 (3-0) penalty kick shootout victory over St. John’s was a chance to step from the shadow of that legendary 2004 squad, which finished the season ranked No. 1 in the country by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America and earned its third WCAC title in a row.
“We really just wanted to establish something on our own,” said senior midfielder Kika Toulouse, whose older sister, Melissa, was a star defender in 2004. “That year was amazing. But we also couldn’t let the program just go downhill. The dynasty had to keep going.”
Toulouse, who has verbally committed to Virginia, played a huge part in O’Connell’s return to the top after the Knights lost in the WCAC semifinals to Ireton last fall. A playmaker at midfield, she totaled nine goals and 10 assists. Hernumbers weren’t vastly better than last season (eight goals, eight assists). Her timing was.
“Kika always seemed to run amuck against us,” said Good Counsel coach Jim Bruno, whose team lost in penalty kicks to St. John’s in the WCAC semifinals. “She’s very quick, technically sound, maybe the best overall player in the league. She just changed games.”
Toulouse converted one of the Knights’ three penalty shots in the final against St. John’s. The rest was up to senior goalkeeper Aly Pont, who stopped all three penalty shots taken by the Cadets. Pont, who will play soccer at Princeton, was a first-team All-WCAC selection along with Toulouse and senior forward Liz Carroll.
Knights crowned
» O’Connell finished the season
23-1 and was perfect against D.C.-area competition.
» A repeat won’t be easy for the Knights, even with the majority of the roster returning. Good Counsel (16-6-2) and St. John’s (19-4) graduate just six seniors between them and both have 10 starters back.
» O’Connell senior forward Liz Carroll (Pittsburgh) set the program record for goals in a season with 35, breaking the mark of 32 set by Mick Imgram (Tennessee) in 2004.
