High school girls soccer: American Heritage holds Waterford scoreless to win 2A championship

Behind goals from Paisley Gardner, Riley Jansen and Ada Werner, American Heritage was able to grab its first state title ever, defeating Waterford 3-0 in the 2A state championship game on Saturday.

American Heritage set the tone early and often by controlling possession and keeping the ball on Waterford’s side of the field for a big chunk of the game.

“We worked on possession and communication. Those were the two top priorities we wanted to have the whole time. Scoring the goals is obviously the fun part of soccer, but having control where everyone touches the ball and building from the defense up I feel is key to help you go forward and score,” said American Heritage head coach Eleonor Stafford.

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American Heritage scored 12 minutes into the game when Gardner found the loose ball at the top of the box and chipped it just past the Waterford keeper, pinging the ball off the post and into the back of the net for the 1-0 lead.

That remained the score at half and American Heritage kept the pedal down, searching for more goals to create some breathing room.

They were able to double their lead nine minutes into the second half off of a corner. Waterford had trouble clearing the ball after the corner and Jansen found herself in the right place at the right time and was able to get the all-important second goal for her side.

“I don’t even remember what was going through my mind at that moment. I just remember the corner coming. I was just telling myself I’m going to get this in. We needed another goal to secure this, and during halftime we kept saying we were going to get two more goals and so I’m really happy to be able to contribute to that,” said Jansen.

American Heritage put the game away for good with 22 minutes left. Gardner was taking the ball down the right side of the field and crossed it over to Werner, who was making a run on the back post and was able to easily slot it home to clinch the victory and championship.

“I am so proud of the team,” Stafford said. “We worked so hard this season and it really showed today. Today the hard work really paid off. It’s really about teamwork. Honestly, we put aside the stats and egos of each player and really came together.

“We all set goals that we wanted to win state. That is what we had been working towards. As a coach, to see that the girls were seeing the bigger picture really shows that they’re mature and that it’s achievable, and to be able to have this moment is an incredible experience.”