The St. Paul Academy Spartans won the girls Class A state soccer championship Friday night, taking down St. Charles 3-0.

The first half was one of defenses, with just one goal being scored in the first 40 minutes. Sophomore Clare Ryan Bradley scored in the 31st minute, breaking the stalemate and sending her team into halftime with a 1-0 lead.

The second half was more Spartan-sided. SPA dominated possession time for most of the half. Sawyer Danielson scored in the 62nd minute to give the Spartans a little breathing room, then gave them a little more with another goal in the 68th minute.

Danielson, who scored two goals in Friday’s game on top of a hat trick on Wednesday in the semifinals, said it was important to stay out of her own head about the success she had the previous game.

“I feel like this game I put a lot of pressure on myself to live up to how I played last game. So that was kind of hard at first,” Danielson said. “But I just needed to get out of my head, and, like, just be in the game, and good things will happen.”

SPA coach Aileen Guiney said the championship victory was the best the team played all tournament, even after defeating No. 1 seed Providence Academy a couple days ago.

“We were really clear about our game plan coming in,” she said. “Once we got that first goal, you could feel the momentum going. That’s probably the best soccer we’ve played, in terms of possession, all tournament long. We executed the game plan perfectly. We knew we could shoot from the outside, and our backs were just dynamite.”

Senior Aurelia Meza said the team knew it would be a battle of aggressors, and they made a point to be the more aggressive of the two.

“Before the game, we preached coming out those first five minutes very strong, very aggressive, very physical. We played them once before in the regular season, which I think helped us a ton, getting to know their plays and how they play. But they’re a very aggressive team. So we kind of preached coming out so strong, so hard and aggressive.”

Senior captain Annika Lillegard said that the team has been playing for more than just themselves this season. The Spartans’ boys team also won the Class A boys title, and Lillegard said it’s been amazing to be a part of such a special time of success in the school’s history.

“We aren’t really just playing for our team,” she said. “Today, we played for the seniors who graduated last year. I think a lot of us really felt that most of the team has been here last year, and it’s just an amazing experience. I wouldn’t have it any other way. It’s fantastic to do it with the boys team, and there’s just been a lot of camaraderie around it.

The state title victory comes just one season after losing in last season’s state championship.

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