In the a rematch of last year’s girls section championship, the Benilde-St Margaret’s girls soccer team defeated the Orono Spartans 5-1 to clinch their fourth consecutive state tournament appearance.

The first half was pretty uneventful with a few close calls, though neither team looked like they were gaining the upperhand. Towards the end of the first half, the ball found the foot of junior midfielder Emma Van der Heide and she ripped a shot into the net to give the Red Knights a 1-0 lead going into halftime.

A few minutes into the second half, junior midfielder Jordan Maddaus scored her 19th goal of the season to increase the Red Knights’ lead to 2-0 and only minutes later, Maddaus scored once again to give the Red Knights a 3-0 lead.

Emma Van der Heide scored again to make it 4-0 Red Knights, but Orono showed their first sign of life their first goal scored by sophomore midfielder Taylor Eckerline.

Orono’s vigor was short lived because sophomore Aleksa Tataryn would add one more goal and seal the 5-1 Red Knight victory. “My confidence in us winning built up after each goal, but I didn’t let that keep me from thinking we still had to work hard until the final horn,” senior captain Megan Katopodis said.

This is the Red Knights eighth state appearance in nine years and advance to the state tournament where they will look to capture the program’s second consecutive state title. “We have a huge target on our backs and are going to have to prove everyone that we deserve to be here again and show that we’re capable of maintaining the title we’ve worked so hard for all season” Katopodis said.