FENTON, MO – Sophia Swingle sat in the bleachers at Soccer Park and watched her All-State sister Victoria lead St. Michael the Archangel to a second-place finish in 2021.
On Friday, the Guardians’ junior goalkeeper made her own memory.
“I looked up to her so much when she was on this field. While I was warming up, I soaked it in and thought, ‘This is my turn.’”
Swingle made 18 saves, several in spectacular fashion, but the Cor Jesu offense proved to be too potent as the Chargers defeated St. Michael 3-0 in a Class 3 Missouri State High School Athletic Association girls soccer semifinal at Soccer Park in Fenton.
Cor Jesu (20-4), which won its 11th consecutive game, will face Rockwood Summit (13-9-1) at 1:30 p.m. Saturday in the Class 3 title match at Soccer Park.
St. Michael the Archangel (13-9) will face three-time defending champion Fort Zumwalt South (18-6) in the third-place game at noon Saturday.
Swingle began her magnificent performance in the second minute, diving to her left to knock away a shot by Cor Jesu 23-goal scorer Maddie DiMaria. She made a second diving save on DiMaria two minutes later.
“As soon as I make a first save, part of me is unlocked,” Swingle said. “I’m craving for the girl to come at me so I can show what I can do.”
Her cravings were quickly satisfied.
Swingle rejected a header off a Cor Jesu corner kick, then made another full-extension dive to thwart a sure-goal from DiMaria. It was Swingle’s sixth save in the opening 10 minutes and fourth from a high-danger area off the foot of DiMaria.
“It was all adrenaline,” Swingle said.
Despite the near misses, Cor Jesu remained confident that a goal would eventually come.
“We knew we had to start off strong and we came out with fire and energy, but all credit to (Swingle). She’s a really great goalie,” DiMaria said. “Those first few didn’t go in, but we knew if we kept persisting, one would come.”
It came off a corner kick in the 29th minute. Cor Jesu freshman Molly Minnigerode delivered a service that was knocked back to her. Her return blast into the box was redirected by the head of freshman Roz Doherty and into the net to give the Chargers a 1-0 lead.
“That’s exactly how we scored in our (Visitation) game to get to the district final. I had full confidence in Molly. I knew if she got it anywhere in the 18 (yard box), I was going to get my head on it,” Doherty said.
As the first half progressed, St. Michael settled into the game. A blast from distance by Guardians’ junior Isabel Miller required a sharp save from Cor Jesu goalkeeper Isabelle Hochmuth, and St. Michael earned two corner kicks that were defended well by the Chargers.
“The first five minutes they came at us really hard, but we settled in,” Swingle said. “In the middle of the first half I thought, ‘This looks like a back-and-forth, even game.’”
The game evened out in part of a defensive adjustment by St. Michael coach Rob Putthoff, who tasked sophomore Ella Boehnlein with the mission of staying with DiMaria.
“Ella’s main goal in life was to stick with her and at least disrupt her, and she did an amazing job,” Putthoff said. “If (DiMaria) would have gone to the concession stand, Ella would have gone up there with her.”
But while Boehnlein successfully contained DiMaria, the corner kick prowess of Cor Jesu proved to be the difference. Another service from Minnigerode deflected to junior Emma Shields, who sent a pass into the box that Doherty headed off the post and into the goal with 22 seconds remaining until halftime.
“That goal with 22 seconds really hurt us. We had been so strong defensively, and to go into halftime 1-0 feels a lot different than 2-0. I could see the girls’ spirits were down, but we came out in the second half and battled,” Putthoff said.
Early in the second half, St. Michael altered formations once again and generated scoring chances. A 22-yard free kick from sophomore Leah Simmons was blocked by the wall of Cor Jesu and sent back to Simmons, whose return volley went just wide.
“We practice those a lot,” Putthoff said. “It’s like in basketball – if somebody doesn’t block your shot, it’s going in. We pictured that going upper 90 as soon as she hit it.”
Two minutes later, DiMaria escaped and scored from 15 yards away to give Cor Jesu a 3-0 lead.
“We knew we had our hands full today, but we came in ready to battle,” Putthoff said.
And that battle was exemplified by Swingle, who delivered a brilliant, 18-save performance that would have made her sister proud.
‘I couldn’t do this with her, but now I get to be here and carry it on,” Swingle said.