Lady Raiders Fall in State Final to Memphis' St. Agnes Academy, 1-0

Lady Stars Earn Second State Title In Three Year

Friday, November 06, 2009 - by Dennis Norwood
St. Agnes' Danielle Pirozzi stumbles while trying to move in front of Baylor's McKenzie Thomas. Click to enlarge.
St. Agnes' Danielle Pirozzi stumbles while trying to move in front of Baylor's McKenzie Thomas. Click to enlarge.
- photo by Michael Locke

It was a weary band of warriors from Baylor School who stood where they were on the field at GPS when the final horn sounded in their state final match against St. Agnes Academy from Memphis.

With disbelief showing on their young faces, some too stunned to move, to believe it was over, they simply stood. It was a Camilla Buoni goal in the fifteenth minute of play that was the Lady Raider's undoing in their attempt to claim Baylor's seventh state title in the sport. Buoni took a high-bounding assist from teammate Caroline Capocaccia and planted it firmly inside the net.

That was all it took for the Lady Stars to capture the school's second state title. They were previous winners in 2006 with a 2-0 win over Battleground Academy. This time, however, all it took was Buoni's lone score.

Baylor head coach Jimmy Weekly, humble in defeat, had this to say about his young squad, "We just didn't have the legs today with last night's late finish. I'm not talking sour grapes, but it was a factor."

Given his team's inability to get a clear look at the Star's goal, he said, "Their center backs are excellent. We never really did have any clear shots and then when we did, it was an apparent off-sides."

In the 75th minute McKenzie Thomas had an apparent goal waved off due to an off-sides call. Not immediately aware of the non-goal, it drew an emotional reaction when the sophomore forward realized what had happened. With the shot waved off, it left Baylor with no shots on goal for the second half.

Baylor created opportunities to score but were always just a hair's width from connecting. In one one-minute span senior forward Carissa Sanchez had three corner kicks that were either too high for a touch as they crossed through the box or the Star's senior keeper Devan Langston made a leaping grab of the ball. Thomas attempted to break through for scoring opportunities throughout the game only to find the St. Agnes defense collapsed in front of and around her.

With seven seniors to Baylor's two, St. Agnes was the more experienced squad. This was apparent as the game ground down in the second half. The Star's remained calm while the Lady Raiders' sense of urgency made them appear out of control as they pressed to get a score on the board. However, with only the two seniors, Sanchez and mid-fielder Mary Stagmaier it should not be such a rebuilding year for Coach Weekly. As he stated, "I expect to see us back here next year."

The Star's sophomore mid-fielder Suzanne Capocaccia was named the game's Most Valuable Player. St. Agnes ended their season with a record of 17-0-4, while Baylor earned a 17-1-4 finish for the season, causing Coach Weekly to remark, "I am so very, very proud of these girls and what they have accomplished this season. It has been a great one."

Score at half: St. Agnes-1, Baylor-0

St. Agnes: 1-0=1
Baylor: 0-0=0

Scoring:

First half:
SA Camilla Capocaccia; assist by Caroline Capocaccia; 15th minute

Second half:
No scores

Shots on goal: St. Agnes-11; Baylor-4
Saves: St. Agnes-2 (Keeper: Devan Langston); Baylor-2 (Keeper: Katherine Rodgers)
Fouls: St. Agnes-13; Baylor-9

Baylor's Grace Stewart controls the ball.
Baylor's Grace Stewart controls the ball.
- Photo2 by Michael Locke

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