FENTON, MO – Late in the evening on the first Saturday in June, Lauren Seppi lay on the turf at Soccer Park with tears in her eyes.
The year was 2023. Seppi chimed the goal post in overtime, and 30 seconds later, watched the game-winning goal enter the Nerinx Hall net. It was her third time playing in a state title game for the Markers, and her third heartbreaking defeat.
One year later, at almost the same time in the evening, Seppi again lay on the turf at Soccer Park. This time crying tears of joy.
Seppi scored on a penalty kick with 2:27 remaining in double overtime to give Nerinx Hall a thrilling 2-1 victory over Eureka in the Class 4 Missouri State High School Activities Association girls soccer state championship game Saturday at Soccer Park.
Nerinx Hall (17-3-1), which had placed as state runner-up the previous four seasons, won its second soccer state title and first since 1988.
“This means so much more than just to win this year. This win is for every single girl who has put on a Nerinx soccer jersey,” Seppi said.
Late in the second overtime, Nerinx freshman Sofia Scego was tripped up by Eureka goalkeeper Stella Eremita as she dove to corral a loose ball at the top of the penalty area.
Seppi saw the call made, picked up the ball and placed it on the PK spot herself. She stood behind it for almost a full minute before officials signaled that they were ready.
“When the PK happened, I grabbed the ball and said, ‘I’m putting this in the back of the net, I don’t care what it takes,’” Seppi said.
Seppi unleashed a laser into the upper right corner that glanced off the underside of the crossbar on its way into the net. Eremita guessed right, but never had a chance.
“We earned that draw of the foul. It was maybe a yard inside the box, it was close, but you need a little luck to do this, too,” Nerinx Hall coach Brian Haddock said. “You need some things to break your way. The last few years, a bounce here, a bounce there, it didn’t, but tonight it did.”
Nerinx Hall earned its lucky bounces through a tremendous amount of hustle from the outset. Sprints down the wings from Scego and sophomore Keira Bartholet and head ball wins from Seppi and junior Anna Rosenberg helped the Markers gain a territorial advantage.
“We looked at each other and decided we have 80 minutes to determine our season. Leave every bit of yourself on the field, and we left every bit of ourselves on that field,” said Seppi, a senior captain who gave an impassioned speech prior to the game and another one in overtime.
One of those hustle plays produced the first Nerinx Hall goal.
Senior Haylee Braun, who scored the game-tying goal to force overtime against Liberty North in last year’s championship game, raced to the left sideline to save a pass before it rolled out of bounds. She dribbled between two defenders and sent a cross to junior Anna Rosenberg, who fired home her third goal of the season to put the Markers ahead 1-0.
“We weren’t the biggest team this year compared to the last couple years, but we were faster, and these kids brought that blue-collar work ethic every day,” Haddock said.
Eureka (20-5) had its own, season-long strength – set pieces. The Wildcats were dangerous on each of their four corner kicks, and when Caroline Orf unleashed a 50-yard free kick onto the head of Blaine Schutte, Eureka tied the game at 1 in the 50th minute.
“We like our chances on set pieces. One of our assistant coaches said, ‘We’re tying it right now.’ It wasn’t a surprise to us,” Eureka coach Michael Hanna said.
As Eureka celebrated the goal, Seppi jogged briskly to the midfield spot seemingly unaffected by the event that just transpired.
“We knew Eureka was a fantastic team. We knew it was going to be a hard game. For us, it was about what we’re going to do next,” Seppi said.
What the Markers did next was everything but score. They earned a free kick, a corner kick and a cross from Seppi to Braun that was directed inches wide of an empty cage.
Early in the first overtime, Eureka snuck a shot past Nerinx Hall senior goalkeeper Caroline Ritter, but it was booted off the goal line at the last instant by senior Rhyan Ward.
“That saved us. I couldn’t believe it,” Nerinx sophomore defender Lainey Bickel said.
Another 50-yard free kick from the foot of Orf connected with the head of Schutte but sailed inches wide.
“You can feel your heart drop sometimes, I must say. But we have a great team, and all these girls will back up any move you make. It’s all about trusting the people around you,” Bickel said.
Eureka produced its own defensive gems in the first overtime, including a full-extension diving save by Eremita to rob a sure game-winner off the foot of Scego.
“The only reason we were in the game for that long was how well (Eremita) played,” Hanna said.
As the game progressed through a first and into a second overtime, the possibility of another championship game defeat loomed for the Markers.
“We thought all that pressure might slide to them a little bit, and it might work to our advantage,” Hanna said.
But Scego made the final hustle play, quickly getting her body behind the ball as Eremita scrambled to smother it and drawing the foul that sent Seppi to the spot.
“I knew it was going in. It’s Seppi,” Scego said.
And in the end, it was the ability for Seppi and the Markers to manage the weight of past championship game heartache that provided a much different feeling while lying on the Soccer Park turf on the first Saturday in June.
“The reward is sweet, but the journey to get here – the close calls, the PK losses, the OT loss to Liberty North last year – makes this, that much sweeter,” Haddock said.
Photos available for viewing/purchase at: https://benvessa.smugmug.com/Girls-Soccer-2023-24/Class-4-championship-Nerinx-Hall-vs-Eureka-06-01-2024