“Coach told me to shoot with the wind to my back, I knew I was close enough and turned and kicked it and the wind probably took it a little bit,” Aizen said.

Yes, the wind helped, but the way she struck the ball did as well.

“After I hit the ball I had a good feeling that it was going to go in,” Aizen said.

Besides being one of the top players in the Catholic League, Aizen is also one of the most versatile. Earlier this year she played in goal due to injury at the position.

“Mya is a special girl and she is good at everything,” Adamiec said.

Aizen has also had to overcome an ACL injury that sidelined her during her freshman year.

“I can see her confidence growing and as the season progressed, she has gotten better and better,” Adamiec said of Aizen.

That early goal stood up, because Conwell-Egan had a strong defensive effort, led by center back Samantha Terry.

“It feels great to be in the semifinals and we have a really good team to make it this far,” Terry said. “I am really happy about our defense, we played really well together.”

Teaming with Terry at center back is Gia Sparo while Lexi Pavel and Connie Wojton are the outside backs. Senior Katharine Brennan was solid in goal.

As for Archbishop Carroll, the Patriots played a strong game. Senior Ella Wright was a force, breaking down defenders and firing some dangerous long shots on goal.

“We played well and give credit to Egan, they were a little hungrier than we were at times but we rebounded in the second half and put everything on them,” said Archbishop Carroll coach Tom Quintois.

Ritter was spot-on all evening making excellent passes during a take-charge effort from midfield.

Then less than two minutes into the second half, sophomore Riley Lukah scored the second goal, on a one-timer from close range.

The Ragdolls would also get second half goals from Drew Bark and Ally Davis.

The defense, led by center back back Carly Walsh, was air tight.

“This is what we worked for all season from August until now,” said Walsh, who along with Ritter will continue their education and soccer careers at Kutztown. “This is what we give everything for and try to to get everyone working this year.”

Little Flower received exceptional play from senior midfielder Isabella Torres and sophomore midfielder Hayden Johnston.

This was just an evening when Little Flower was unable to conquer the tough Ryan defense.

“I thought we had some chances and could have scored some goals, but we weren’t able to convert,” Little Flower coach Markos Pittaoulis said.

Now Ryan will meet Lansdale Catholic. On Sept. 29, host Lansdale Catholic beat Ryan, 4-0.

The Crusaders won’t enter this game with a false sense of security.

“I absolutely expect it to be closer this time,” Lansdale Catholic coach Bree Benedict said. “For us, being on turf, we are going to look different too. On turf we play a lot faster and are able to connect our passes.”

In summation, Benedict feels both teams will be different.

“So I think it will be a lot different but I know they are going to look a lot different,” she said. “Knowing Ryan and how hard they play, it is going to be intense.”

Savage has a strong leg, but also anticipates well which is why she is able to break up so many plays.

“She is an awesome player,” Wood coach Tom DeGeorge said. “You feel very comfortable when things break down because you know she is there to clean it up.”

Savage has been a main reason why the Vikings had the best regular season record and now, as previously mentioned, face Conwell-Egan in Tuesday’s semifinal.

She was also a key member of last year’s Catholic League championship team.

In middle school, Savage played either up top or in the midfield, moved to defense around the sixth grade. Since entering Archbishop Wood, but she has been playing in the back at a high level.

This season she has not had to worry about the pressures of recruiting. In May she made a commitment to Bloomsburg, a perennial power in the the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference and Division II.

“My parents went there and I really liked the campus and love the environment,” Savage said of Bloomsburg.