How Sweep it is

6A On Saturday May 12th, The Union boys soccer squad scored a 5-4 victory over Putnam City North in penalty kicks at the Bixby High School soccer complex. Led by Salim Nelson and goalkeeper Joel Martin, the Skins captured their second title in three years. "It was such a tough win," said Union coach Jason Jedemski. "Both teams fought extremely hard and we were able to pull it out in the end. What a finish!" Along with the boys, the Lady Redskins also captured the 6A state championship with a 2-1 win over Edmond North. "The thrill of victory and watching those kids throughout the season and off-season came to a stop with our state championship," said Union head soccer coach Jose Fernandez. Fernandez led the Booker T. Washington boys team to five state championships before joining Union three years ago. "I'm excited for them. I'm excited myself. They played some of the powerhouses to get to this point. They earned it." Union allowed two goals during the playoffs. Callie White's unassisted goal midway through the second half was the difference for Union. White's shot grazed the leg of Edmond North's Caitlin Martin before rolling past goalkeeper Haley Harryman. Kelsey Bishop also chipped in with a first half goal that was assisted by White. 5A The Bishop Kelley girls soccer squad nailed down its ninth straight title with a 4-0 drumming of Carl Albert. The Comets scored more goals (4) than the Titans had allowed all season (3). Alex Starrett needed less than four minutes to put the Comets ahead early and added a second later. Amy Petrikin and Tracy Ritchie also blasted goals for the Comets and Katie Bykowski saved three shots for the clean sheet. "These girls have done something very special," said coach Troy Tokarchik. "I'm very proud of them. It was a perfect season." Year-in and year-out the Comets have reloaded with talent and next year should be no different. The smart money will be on Bishop Kelley for a tenth straight title. 4A Another year, another sweep. The boys and girls squads of Cascia Hall take both titles for the second straight year. The Cascia Hall boys, with their third-string goalkeeper leading the way, beat Heritage Hall 2-0 in the state championship game at the University of Tulsa. They finished about two hours after the Cascia Hall girls also won a state soccer title. Both Cascia clubs repeated as state champs and both teams are coached by Mark Shannon. But the boys have one thing over the girls team: they haven't lost. Adding Saturday's win, the Commandos are 32-0 in two seasons under Shannon, including 18-0 this year. Remarkably, the Cascia boys allowed only five goals during their 18-game season. "This is a good habit to get into," Shannon said. "All these kids play club ball and it's my privilege to coach them. It's not that difficult, quite honestly." Sophomore Pete Testa scored the final goal and then replaced injured goalkeeper Kyle Trinidad to preserve the win. By beating Metro Christian 2-0 on the University of Tulsa soccer pitch, the Cascia girls finished their run through the state playoffs with four consecutive shutouts. Sophomore Annie Bass was in goal for Saturday's shutout, which capped a 17-3 season for Cascia Hall. Bass also was in goal for the three other state shutouts. In coach Shannon's two seasons, the Commandos have won consecutive state titles and 31 of 34 games overall. "We have a giant target on our back, but we have a system that's working," Shannon said. "I make the other team play us. We're going to do what we do because we're successful. So, why reinvent the wheel?" Bass had a relatively easy time against Metro Christian (10-3), as the Patriots had no shots — on or off goal. "We call them the 'No Goal Patrol,' and we take that seriously," Shannon said. "But no shots on goal, holy cow, that's pretty good. Good grief. Wow. That's awesome. I didn't know that. I didn't have a clue." Both Cascia goals came on kicks from the left side, from 12 yards by Carolina Prueitt at 49:03 and by Casey Easley, on a cross field pass from Natalie Framjee at 70:12.