Phoenix Xavier Prep won its 11th girls soccer state title in the 6A conference state championship on Friday at Gilbert Campo Verde.

It was the fifth seed Gators’ 15th state championship match appearance in school history, as they beat third seed Scottsdale Chaparral, 2-0. 

Chaparral (13-3) and Xavier Prep (10-2-1) each entered the championship on a five-game win streak. 

Xavier Prep’s defense was like a brick wall for the entire match. Gators junior midfielder Hennessy Perez scored the match’s first goal off an assist in the box from senior forward Megan McGinty at the 34:46 minute mark in the first half.

“I was playing in the mid and I saw Megan McGinty driving down the line, and I knew that she was gonna cross it because she’s absolutely amazing at crossing the ball,” Perez said. “I was like, OK, I need to score this game because I didn’t score in the last game, so I came in running in the box and I made it.”

The second goal was scored just before full time when Xavier Prep sophomore forward Eva Allen kicked in the ball from freshman midfielder Talia Coury’s pass with 55 seconds remaining to clinch the title.

Chaparral head coach Robyn Carlson found it troubling for her team’s offense to get shot attempts through Xavier’s stifling defense. 

“I was proud of the (Chaparral) girls who had to battle to get to the state finals,” Carlson said. “I thought we had a lot of opportunities to score, but unfortunately (Xavier) scored early. And we had a lot of chances, but we couldn’t put the ball in the back of the net.”

The Gators ended the Firebirds’ run of four consecutive state titles, consisting of their 2019 and 2020 titles in 6A after moving up from 5A where Chaparral won two straight titles. 

“The run’s been incredible and I just think this year, no one really counted us in,” Carlson said. “These (Chaparral) girls battled and battled and came through different things thrown their way.”

Xavier’s championship berth came from an miraculous game-winning 41-yard goal kicked by sophomore midfielder Bella Leonard with three seconds in the 6A semifinals. 

Leonard kicked the ball with three seconds remaining on the game clock, it bounced off the bottom of the crossbar and fell into the left side of the net as time expired, knocking off top seed Gilbert Perry, 1-0, in a double overtime thriller Wednesday.

“We’ve really grown as a team and just sharing that moment with everyone at the end,” Leonard said. “Everyone just coming together and hugging and just being so excited. I heard my dad screaming from the stands counting down and I knew we had no time left, so I just sent up a prayer and it went in. It was surreal to be able to go to the state championship.

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