One year later, Valkyries get the title

GEORGETOWN -- It was a moment in time that Sacred Heart's players will never forget.

There it was in bright bulbs on the Toyota Stadium clock: 1:01.

At that instant, a long overtime game ended when Highlands scored and ended the Valkyries season.

But last night during the state championship game, when the clock clicked down to 0:00, the Valkyries experienced another moment they will never forget.

It signaled the end of the game and a 2-0 win over Woodford County, helping SHA win its second state title in four years to complete a Louisville sweep.

"It's so great to see them get this, especially last year losing it and coming so close," first-year coach Chris Moore said.

Senior Jordan Feger, tournament Most Valuable Player, was all smiles.

"I'm so excited," she said. "This the best feeling I've ever had in soccer."

Yesterday afternoon, Feger and her teammates relived the worst feeling they've ever had in soccer by watching the horror film that was their state tournament loss to Highlands.

"Just the picture of the one minute, one second up on that clock just made us all so motivated," Feger said. "We wanted to come back and get revenge, get back what we lost last year."

The time that broke Sacred Heart's hearts motivated them all season. During drills, everything was done in one minute, one second increments.

The Valkyries practiced with a purpose.

They played with a purpose last night, too.

Lucy Chauvin, who scored both of the Valkyries' goals in a semifinal win over Notre Dame on Thursday night, put SHA up 1-0 midway through the first half.

It looked as though Woodford keeper Lyndsay Vance had corralled the freshman's shot, but Vance bobbled the ball off her hip and couldn't hold on.

"It really came down to breaks," Woodford Coach Jim Tussey said. "We had some great opportunities. The game was a lot closer than it says, that score on the board."

At halftime, Tussey told his players they had a choice.

"I told them their back was against the wall and that they could take action or take no action," he said. "Our girls took action, came out and played really hard."

The game was nearly even the rest of the way, but the Valkyries -- knowing anything could happen in a short amount of time -- made it all but official with seven minutes to go.

That's when senior Ariel Erickson collected a rebound from a shot and popped it into the back of the goal to give the Valkyries their eighth straight victory and their 11th shutout of the season.

Woodford had been dominant in the post-season, outscoring opponents 30-2, but Sacred Heart's speed up top and in the back frustrated the Yellowjackets.

"They were winning all of the 50-50 chances," Tussey said. "They were superior to us in the air. They really disrupted what we like to do and put a lot of pressure on us, more pressure on our backs than we've seen all season."

Woodford County has advanced to the state finals twice and lost both times. They fell to Notre Dame 1-0 in overtime in 2004.

But Tussey thinks getting this close will motivate his players in the same way the time on last year's clock inspired the Valkyries.

"We've got almost all of our players back, and I told them to remember how they feel right now," he said. "It's a building process, and we can build from here."