American Heritage had defeated Waterford to win the title in 2024, but the two teams had met in late September and the Ravens had rolled to a dominant 8-1 victory.

But someone forgot to tell the Patriots they shouldn’t be able to stop the potent Waterford offense.

American Heritage went toe-to-toe with the Ravens for all of regulation and two overtime periods, resulting in a 0-0 tie after 100 minutes of action. That meant the outcome would be decided on penalty kicks — which Waterford won by the narrowest of margins.

The Ravens got the one block they needed on the last kick, giving Waterford the 0-0 (5-4 in PKs) victory and the 2A crown while the Patriots had to settle for second place.

Jared Lloyd, Daily Herald

American Heritage head coach Eleonor Stafford, however, said she was still thrilled with how her team did on the biggest stage.

“We had a lot of hurdles this season,” Stafford said. “We lost a lot of players from last year and had a lot of injuries, but we worked hard. The girls proved themselves today.”

She lauded her squad for executing the game plan and giving themselves chances to seize control.

“We played defensively in the first half just to feel the field out,” Stafford said. “We watched our film and we made sure who to mark. After we understood what was going on, in the second half we took more of an aggressive approach. Unfortunately, we didn’t get anything in, but we took our shots and I was really proud of the girls.”

As the clock wound down, both teams knew that each attack could result in the game-winner but neither could break through the opposing defense. “We didn’t make our shots, but we held them,” Stafford said. “I’m proud that we held them both overtimes but unfortunately in PKs you never know.”

Talented Patriot freshman Jules Gardner didn’t shy away from the moment but couldn’t get her shot past Raven keeper Jessica Miller, which turned out to be the difference.

“I’m so proud of her (Gardner) for even going to take the shot,” Stafford said. “A lot of the girls were nervous, but she felt confident and I, as a coach, want confident PK shooters. It was still on frame, which I’d rather have than having it going out wide.”

Even though the outcome didn’t go in favor of American Heritage this year, Stafford said it was a thrill to be a part of such a tense championship match.

“I love it,” Stafford said. “It’s an adrenaline rush for me as a former soccer player. I believed in the girls, even though we were told that they couldn’t get here. We worked, we did our homework, and it’s really satisfying to see the payoff. Today, they did what they had to do. I feel like we left with no regrets.”

This Patriot team only has two seniors, so Stafford has high expectations for the returners.

“The girls know that they are confident enough to believe in me and that we can make it here,” she said. “I’m glad I sold that to them, because we’re going to go back to work next year. We’re going to make goals and we’re going to come back.”