Mia Padula's hat trick leads St. Dominic to CHSAA Class A girls soccer title

Mia Padula wasn’t on the St. Dominic team that won the CHSAA Class A league title last season. But the sophomore sure didn’t play like it was her first finals game when she netted a hat trick for the Bayhawks.

No. 1 St. Dominic beat No. 2 Holy Trinity, 6-0, under the lights Thursday at St. Anthony’s. St. Dominic had two goals within a four-minute span in the first half, with Keira Laibach and Padula scoring early for the Bayhawks.

“It got the momentum going for the rest of the game, so we weren’t playing nervous or scared,” Padula said. “It got us going.”

Padula scored two more goals late, dancing around defenders to finish the ball with ease. Coach Sabrina Adamo said she was proud of her player’s performance.

“She’s just outstanding,” Adamo said. “She is the least selfish player on this team and gives her teammates more opportunities than she gives herself. So, it’s awesome to see her get three goals today, she deserves it.”

Keira Schneidler was often the conduit for St. Dominic’s attacks, sending dangerous long balls and switching the field to the benefit of the Bayhawks. The senior captain scored her eighth goal of the season and assisted Laibach for the game’s first goal. Yet Schneidler said this Class A title victory was “almost sad” compared to the title she won a year ago.

“It’s (almost) the last one you can win,” Schneidler said. “But I’m happy I did it, (and) I’m happy for my team.”

Brooke Segura finished with a trio of assists, beginning with Padula’s first goal before grabbing her own late in the game with St. Dominic’s fifth goal. The freshman’s magical footwork created the needed space and was a mainstay of the Bayhawks’ offense.

Schneidler and Segura connected on numerous attacking plays for the Bayhawks. Schneidler said the chemistry that resulted in the team’s success can be partly attributed to St. Dominic’s size as a school.

“We have just been playing with each other for the last four years, and I feel like we have grown as a team,” Schneidler said. “It’s such a small school . . . these girls are also my classmates in almost every class. It’s nice that we are a sisterhood on the field and in school.”

Holy Trinity ends its season with a 3-8-0 record. St. Dominic (6-6-1), which won a league and state title in the same year for the first time in school history last season, will head to St. John’s University for regionals next Friday to try and rewrite its own history.