Olivia Gordon strikes twice as Kellenberg girls soccer defeats St. Anthony's in final
Kellenberg celebrates its first goal during the NSCHSAA girls soccer championship against St. Anthony's on Sunday at Adelphi. Credit: Howard Simmons
The Kellenberg and St. Anthony’s girls soccer teams are no strangers to playing each other in the finals.
But after coming up short twice, Kellenberg's Olivia Gordon made sure the third time ended differently.
Gordon had two goals and an assist to lead the second-seeded Firebirds to a 3-1 win over top-seeded St. Anthony’s to capture the program’s first NSCHSAA title since 1987, according to coach Suzanne Sluka, at Adelphi Sunday evening.
Gordon was named the game’s MVP and was awarded the NSCHSAA’s player of the year.
“It’s surreal,” said Gordon, who is committed to play at Louisville. “I’ve been waiting for this since I was a freshman. We lost every time. But this time it’s our year.”
“I coached for 20 years, and I’ve played in 12-13 finals against them,” Sluka said. “We were always inches away, but it was always about how we overcame adversity.”
The Firebirds, who have a high-powered attack, took some time to settle in. But center back Cassidy Durnan was all over the field setting up Kellenberg’s offense and slowing down the Friars’ attack.
“We’ve waited years for this,” Durnan said. “All 27 players wanted this. We knew what we were capable of and we came out with the mentality that we were going to take this win.”
Kellenberg eventually found its rhythm and started putting pressure on the Friars’ defense.
Gordon found Abby Woodruff, who fired a shot into the bottom-right corner for a 1-0 advantage.
St. Anthony's Caileen Reardon’s free kick created a loose ball in front of the net. Ava Sloma was between two Kellenberg defenders, but after falling on the ground, she still managed to kick the loose ball in the net for the equalizer in the 29th minute.
Gordon responded before halftime. Erin Malley’s corner kick set up Gordon’s first goal as she headed it in during the 39th minute. Gordon scored a penalty kick with 12:50 left to give Kellenberg a 3-1 lead.
“Once [Gordon] gets the ball at her feet, she hits another gear,” Sluka said. "There is no stopping her.”
Durnan was awarded the NSCHSAA's defensive player of the year.
“Since August 24th, I’ve been trying to grind,” Durnan said. “Everyone helps me out, and we all came together and played as a team.”
St. Anthony’s (8-5-2) had battled injuries throughout the season. Coach Scott Carey said he was proud of the girls and how they handled adversity.
“We had injuries, the next person had to step in line, and we didn’t skip a beat,” he said. “They worked hard every day, and that’s all you can ask for."
Kellenberg (10-4-2) advances to the CHSAA state semifinals on Saturday at the College of Staten Island.
“We want to take it all the way,” Gordon said. “We haven’t won yet, so I think we’re going all the way this year.”
Jonathan Ruban covers high school sports for Newsday after graduating from St. John’s.
