FENTON – Cor Jesu sophomore Macy Nicholson enjoyed being on the other side of the Maddie DiMaria championship game experience.
Playing as a Rockwood Summit defender alongside her sister Sienna last June, Macy felt the crushing impact of two DiMaria goals and an assist in a state title match loss to Cor Jesu.
This year, Nicholson literally played on the same side of the field of DiMaria, pushing the ball ahead to her, and joyfully watching the magic unfold.
“If you put Maddie on a big field like this, in this environment, it’s exciting to watch. I’m glad I was on this end of it this year,” Macy Nicholson said.
DiMaria scored two goals and added an assist to complete a brilliant postseason performance as Cor Jesu defeated St. Dominic 4-0 to win the Class 4 Missouri State High School Activities Association state championship Saturday at Soccer Park.
Cor Jesu (22-1), which won a Class 3 state title last season, extended a spring season of athletic excellence after the Chargers’ girls lacrosse team also won a state championship in late May.
“Coming in, everyone told me, ‘Cor Jesu is a smart school,’ but I wanted to make it a point that we could also play sports, and be both,” sophomore captain Roz Doherty said.
New Perspective: Left: Summit freshman Macy Nicholson (11) converges as her sister Sienna (15) slides to defend Maddie DiMaria during the 2024 Class 3 state title game. Right: Macy Nicholson (11) stands behind Maddie DiMaria as Cor Jesu teammates. | Photos by Ben Vessa
DiMaria, who scored the first four goals in a 7-0 victory over Nixa in the Class 4 semifinal a day earlier, earned a penalty kick less than a minute into the state title match.
She converted the PK, then scored again on a slick flick off a rebound to give Cor Jesu a 2-0 lead in the 19th minute.
“Definitely an unexpected start,” Cor Jesu coach Rachel Brcic said. “It brought a little relief and the girls were able to settle in, but they didn’t get complacent. They were ready to keep going and they upped their game.”
And DiMaria continued to impress. At times, she emulated an NBA power forward in a wide, boxout stance as she received a pass from a defender. Then, after receiving it at her feet, she quickly exploded down the field with the forward lean of a sprinter approaching the finish line.
“I always say it’s hard to get a good picture of her because she’s always in some weird position,” Brcic said with a laugh.
Despite two seasons of watching the Maddie DiMaria experience, Brcic is still amazed at some of feats performed by the 2024 Gatorade National Player of the Year.
“In the semifinal, she took the ball right in front of us, turned and ended up getting a PK off of it. That move was incredible. It was right in front of us and we were all just stunned. You could see it in her face. She knew exactly what she was going to do, but we didn’t know what she was going to do.”
Early in the second half Saturday, DiMaria sprinted down the right side, dribbling the ball faster than the defenders who were chasing her without a ball. At full speed, she sent a soft pass across the box that senior Malena Anic popped into the net to give Cor Jesu a 3-0 lead.
It was a carbon copy of the game-tying goal DiMaria and Anic combined to score late in a district championship game victory against Nerinx Hall on May 22.
“One of the things we emphasize is, when you get down the line, we need runners in the box. Malena did exactly that and had a great finish,” DiMaria said.
The Chargers had another repeat performance on their fourth goal, when senior Emma Shields launched a corner kick that Doherty headed into the net. Doherty and Shields combined to score in the exact way during both the 1-0 quarterfinal win against Ursuline and the state semifinal victory over Nixa.
“The past few games, we’ve been connecting really well off the corners. Roz is great in the air, and it’s so much fun playing with her,” Shields said.
And the joy of playing was evident in DiMaria. During one rare occurrence where a St. Dominic player took the ball from her, DiMaria complimented the defender verbally before sprinting back into the play.
“I have a great time playing, and one of the best things is keeping that love for the game. Losing the ball because of a great tackle, I mean, ‘Great play. That’s a great play,’” said DiMaria, who entered the crowd after the medal ceremony to sign T-shirts worn by young, adoring fans.
Despite a dominant Soccer Park experience in which they outscored their opponents 11-0, the Chargers experienced several tense moments during the postseason. During the district championship game, Cor Jesu surrendered an early goal and trailed 1-0 at halftime to defending Class 4 champion Nerinx Hall.
“There were definitely nerves. You lose and you go home. We had to stay composed but play with urgency because it could be our last 40 minutes,” DiMaria said.
After DiMaria set up Anic for the tying goal, she scored one of the highlight goals of the playoffs, escaping a double team near the corner flag, weaving past three other defenders, entering the box and launching a left-footed laser against the grain that proved to be the game-winner with 10:40 remaining in the game.
“I was filled with so much urgency, I just wanted to win,” DiMaria said after the district championship win. “Sometimes, I’m like, ‘Ok, guys, give me the ball. I’m ready. I feel like that’s something I do pretty well.”
Nerinx Hall coach Marty Todt said, “When you have a special player like Maddie DiMaria, you can hold her down for a while, but trying to hold her down for 90 minutes is a tough chore.”
Ursuline may have done the best job of containing DiMaria and the Chargers explosive offense in a Class 4 quarterfinal, but the Cor Jesu defense pitched the first of three consecutive postseason shutouts in a 1-0 win.
During the weekend at Soccer Park, Cor Jesu controlled every aspect of the game from start to finish.
“Credit to (Cor Jesu), they control the ball really well. It’s the name of the game. You have to control the ball to do what you want to do,” St. Dominic coach Greg Koeller said. “It’s a lesson learned – a tough one – but I’m proud of my team. Just to get here was unbelievable. We have a lot of young players. I think the experience is only going to help us for next year.”
And for Cor Jesu and its 11 seniors, the repeat championship was more difficult to achieve than it may have seemed to the casual observer.
“Last year, we were the underdogs, but this year we had a lot of pressure on us. Kudos to our seniors. I’m so happy for these girls,” Brcic said.
Shields added, “The chemistry was so great. People were kind of skeptical about how we were going to come out since we had already won state last year, but it made us excited to prove ourselves even more. We came out even stronger this year.”
For photo galleries of girls soccer matches from the past three seasons, click the link below:
https://benvessa.smugmug.com/Girls-Soccer-2023-24