Girls Soccer Wins State Championship!

“Inspired by semifinal losses to Saint Mark’s the last two years and a regular-season defeat this spring, Archmere turned the tables in prolific fashion.” 

 

The Spartans had won the regular-season matchup 5-2 on April 21 at Archmere. The Auks also fell to Saint Mark’s 2-0 in 2021 and 4-1 in 2022 in the semifinals. This year, Archmere also avenged a regular-season loss to Caravel in Wednesday’s 2-1 semifinal win over the top-seeded Buccaneers.

 

Archmere entered the State Tournament as the #4 seed, but quickly showed their strength as they knocked off opponent after opponent, including a 2-1 victory over #1 ranked Caravel to guarantee the trip to the State Championship. 

 

Mike Lang of the Dialog writes, “The last two years, the Auks’ season ended in the semifinals at the hands of Saint Mark’s, but the Spartans were on the other side of the bracket this year. That meant, however, that Archmere would have to beat the top seed, perennial powerhouse Caravel, just to get to the final. They did, on an Emma Gioffre penalty kick with about a minute and a half to go in the semis, securing a spot in the final.”

 

Archmere senior and University of Cincinnati signee Emma Gioffre sparked the Auks throughout the championship game. Emma led the team off, hitting a left-footed shot from 20 yards out to inch Archmere ahead 1-0 in the 10th minute. A minute after Emma scored, junior Jules Witherell headed in a cross from sophomore Marina Mahon to make it 2-0 and scored again three minutes later for a 3-0 lead. 

 

Saint Mark’s scored in the 16th minute but it was a short-lived celebration, as the Auks quickly refocused. Sophomore Lyla Bell scored in the 21st minute when Emma Gioffre’s free kick from 20 yards out came her way. Emma made it 5-1 in the 27th minute on a breakaway and then gave herself a hat trick and Archmere a 6-1 cushion six minutes before halftime. The second half was scoreless, with Auks goalie junior Gabriela Fernandez and her defense repelling numerous Saint Mark’s opportunities. Archmere won the State Championship with that 6-1 score still standing.

 

Head Coach and Archmere history teacher Kyle Bardeer stated in the article, “It’s nice to prove to ourselves and everybody else that we belong here. This group in particular has been working at this for three years now, losses in two straight semifinals coming in. We kind of knew what it felt like to be on the other side, and it stunk. We did not want to feel that again, and they put it all together this year.”

 

Congratulations to coach Kyle Bardeer and the entire soccer team on their historic accomplishment! 

 

For full game details, pictures and quotes click here.