Redemption, and trip to final

Archbishop McCarthy not to be denied this season

PEMBROKE PINES — In the state semifinals a year ago, Archbishop McCarthy gave up a 4-1 lead and lost 5-4 to Estero, missing out on a chance to bring home a state title.

The Mavericks redeemed themselves Friday.

McCarthy, ranked No. 1 in the nation by USA Today, trailed briefly before scoring four straight goals to beat St. Petersburg 4-1 in the Class 4A girls soccer state semifinals at Pembroke Pines Charter.

“It’s a huge deal,” senior Sofia Mallardi said. “We called this season a redemption season because we were obviously very upset about how last season went.”

The win earned Archbishop McCarthy a spot in the state championship match in DeLand at 1 p.m on Feb. 22. The Mavericks (25-0) will face Montverde Academy in the title match.

Monteverde Academy is ranked No. 6 in the nation.

St. Petersburg took the lead in the 24th minute on a goal by junior Hayden Fredericks, but the 1-0 lead didn’t last long.

“We train them — whatever’s going to go wrong is going to happen,” Archbishop McCarthy coach Mike Sica said. “So just deal with it and move on. And it happened tonight.”

The Mavericks were awarded a free kick 27 yards from the net, and junior Cassie Lawson sent a line drive directly to the back corner of the net to tie the game in the 25th minute.

“We know that we’re such a good team that we can bounce back from everything,” Lawson said. “So [we were] just staying calm and making sure that we scored right away so we could solidify the doubt in their mind.”

Set pieces continued to haunt the Green Devils (16-4-1). After a St. Pete yellow card in the 29th minute, McCarthy’s Devyn Encalada took a free kick from 23 yards out. Her shot tipped off the St. Pete line and into the back of the net to give the Mavericks a 2-1 lead.

“We adjusted our strategies, and after we took the lead we started playing more possession and defensive, whereas last year we may have not,” Mallardi said.

After an injury to Angeline Friel, the Green Devils’ starting goalkeeper, late in the second half, the Mavericks put the game away on a short goal by senior Jaden Roberts. Mallardi scored the final goal for the Mavericks in the game’s waning moments.

“That would be amazing,” Mallardi said. “Can’t ask for anything better than that.”