Nevada Preps Game of the Year: 5A girls soccer title game

The teams’ previous three meetings were decided by a score of 1-0, including Coronado’s overtime win in the Southern Region title game just a week before.

After a hard-fought 80 minutes on a crisp November morning at Coronado, overtime was needed to determine a state champion.

After stopping an earlier Coronado scoring opportunity, Faith Lutheran capitalized on its scoring chance.

The ball found senior defender Brooklyn Maier 30 yards out from the goal. Maier took her shot, and the ball found the back of the net, giving the Crusaders a 1-0 overtime win and the state title.

Besides avenging the region title game loss, Faith Lutheran also got payback for a 1-0 defeat to Coronado in the 2021 state title game.

The high-intensity environment with a state title on the line and the talented soccer on display by the state’s two best girls teams made the game an easy choice as the Nevada Preps All-Southern Nevada Game of the Year.

“It was tears of joy all around, and everyone was so excited,” Maier said. “We’re thinking we were going to lose that game because Coronado beat us last year and we were on defense the whole game. It was just amazing, everyone was just on cloud nine.”

Maier said the energy was intense on the field and the team was nervous given how the previous result with Coronado went. With goals at a premium, the Crusaders relied on strong play from their defensive line, led by 5A Mountain League defensive player of the year Taylor Folk.

Crusaders goalie Elke Travis recorded eight saves in a shutout effort. The biggest one came in overtime when she made a stop on Coronado’s free kick to keep the game scoreless.

It wasn’t long after when Faith Lutheran had its chance to score. When Maier received the pass from teammate Ana Coe, the senior was ready to take her shot.

“When I shot the ball, I was just praying that I would go in, and when it went in, it was like the best feeling of my life,” Maier said. “I screamed. It was just an amazing feeling.”

When Maier scored, she raised her arms in celebration, and the Crusaders exploded off the sideline.

“Going into the final, we had nerves based on the outcome of last year, but I had faith in the girls that they would pull out the win,” first-year coach McKenzie Karas said. “We did just that. The feeling was unreal, and we were overjoyed.”

Maier said the way Karas prepared and pushed the team throughout the season made an impact on this state title game going in the Crusaders’ favor. After the game, Karas gave credit to the team’s defensive effort, specifically Maier’s, and goaltending.

Karas said she was confident Maier’s shot would find the back of the net and called her the player of the game.

“We wanted it as a team,” Karas said after the win. “Every single person, whether they played or didn’t. We are just there as a team and were willing to grind it out to the end.”

After regulation, Maier said the team was “gassed,” but Karas gathered the team during the short break to refocus for overtime.

“She was saying, ‘Whoever wants it more, we’ll have to work harder (than Coronado),’” Maier said. “And that’s what we did.”

Maier said the strong connection the Crusaders had was special.

“I couldn’t have asked for a group of better people to work with and to avenge our defeat (to Coronado) from last year,” Maier said.

Contact Alex Wright at awright@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AlexWright1028 on Twitter.