ROUND ROCK:  The Varsity Girls Soccer team traveled south on March 8th for the TAPPS Division 1 State Championship, where they would face off against St. Pius X out of Houston.  The Lady Cards got to this point after a regular season where they looked stronger and stronger each match and finished runner-up to Ursuline for the district title after a pair of extra time and shootout losses to the Bears.  Entering the playoffs as the #2 seed from the north, John Paul II took care of business against Prestonwood with a 5-0 clean sheet in the Area round, then squeaked by Nolan Catholic 1-0 in the Regional Finals thanks to a late game winner by Lillian Penrod.  JPII avenged those earlier losses to UA in the TAPPS State Semi-Finals with a 4-2 drubbing, scoring four unanswered to stun the top-ranked Bears and exercising some soccer demons along the way.  

The Lady Cardinals drew a matchup with the 15-3 Panthers of St. Pius X, also runners-up in District 4, who defeated St. Dominic Savio, San Antonio Christian, and district champion St. Agnes en route to the title game.  JPII, back in the state championship for the first time since a 2-0 loss to Ursuline in 2018, took the pitch with an intensity and physicality that St. Pius X clearly was not prepared for.  

Unwilling to let this moment slip away, the Lady Cards pounced on the Panthers in the seventh minute.  Free kick specialist Erin Dull was called upon to serve up an attempt from just past midfield, and the sophomore defender delivered once again, the shot eerily similar to her free kick strike against Ursuline.  Dull drove a line-drive towards the net that never got more than 15 feet off the ground.  While the Panthers' keeper got a fingertip on the kick, it was not enough to deflect the shot, which struck the crossbar and rebounded into the bottom left corner of the net, past the last line of defense.  

Ahead 1-0 and with all the momentum, John Paul II continued to bombard St. Pius X with service shots and crosses into the box, for which the Panthers had no answer.  In the 18th minute, senior Maggie SymSmith put JPII ahead for good.  A handball in the box from SPX drew a penalty, and the captain stepped up to take the shot.  Just as she's done all season, SymSmith came up huge on the biggest stage, tucking the attempt neatly into the back of the net.  After being mobbed by her teammates, SymSmith and the rest of the Lady Cards settled in for the rest of the first half.

The Lady Cardinals pressed their advantage throughout the second half and nearly netted a third goal on several occasions, as Lillian Penrod, Audrey Ramage, and Avery Bonilla continually peppered the Panthers' netminder with shots.  There was a tense moment for the JPII defense in the final ten minutes where keeper Mallory Murphy came off her line to make a save near the edge of the box and was out of position for a harrowing second or two.  The junior expertly punched the ball away from an encroaching St. Pius X forward before scrambling back to her spot between the posts.  

The rest of the Lady Cardinal back line of Erin Dull, Lauren Dull, Veronica James, Kaitlyn McIntyre, and Ella Offen played magnificently, keeping the pressure off of Murphy all afternoon.  But the story of the match was the dominance of the Lady Cards midfielders, who cooly kept possession and coordinated the JPII attack.  Maggie SymSmith, Ally Tucci, and Gabby Tucci simply out-hustled and outpaced their Panthers counterparts.  Reserves Kelly Caudle, Valentina Navetta, and Emma Rusu came in during key moments to spell the Lady Card starters and contributed on both sides of the ball.  

As the clock wound down until nothing but zeroes could be seen, the emotion was evident on the John Paul II side.  Hugs were shared, tears were rolled, and smiles were everywhere.  A crowning achievement for a program that has always been one of the school's most competitive.  The Lady Cardinals slowly trotted their way towards the supporters who made the four-hour trek down I35 and were showered with cheers as they were draped in blue and gold medals before taking the large, wooden State Championship plaque from athletic director George Teague.  

A fitting end to a season that started rather inconspicuously with two wins, two losses and a tie.  Since then, JPII went 10-2-2 and never lost in regulation.  The Lady Cardinals, having won the program's first Division 1 state title, just made history.  Credit must be given to the John Paul II coaching staff, namely head coach Jeremy Morse.  Now in his 11th season as the manager of the Lady Cards, Morse led the squad to the top of the mountain in the most remarkable campaign.  Assistant coach Ashley Flood added valuable support, perspective, and experience while assistant coach Peter Frein brought a renewed commitment to film study and analytics to the team.  And finally, a massive thanks to the senior trio of Veronica James, Lauren Dull, and Maggie SymSmith, whose leadership made a lasting impact on the program.  Congratulations to the entire Lady Cardinal program for reaching the ultimate goal and giving us such a magical season, we are #CardinalProud!