St. Anthony's advances to CHSAA girls soccer final

St. Anthony's girls soccer team is one game away from completing its goal -- and doing so on its own turf.

The Friars defeated Buffalo Sacred Heart, 2-0, in the CHSAA state semifinal Saturday at St. Anthony's High School. St. Anthony's hosts Christ the King Sunday at 1 p.m. with the chance to win back-to-back championships.

"Our goal this entire season has been to return to states and win it and I think this year's team has been really resilient," coach Sue Alber said. "We've been competitive. There have been times we were down but we were never out."

Sabrina Cristodero opened the scoring for St. Anthony's when she gathered a failed clear attempt and "hit a rocket" from 15 yards out to the top of the net with 14:33 remaining in the first half, Alber said.

St. Anthony's (11-1-2) scored less than six minutes later when Kayla Arestivo perfectly placed a through ball to Miranda Ozimek, who beat a defender and put the ball near-post from 4 yards with 8:25 remaining in the half.

The Friars' offense dominated the game but couldn't find the back of the net in the second half.

"To be fair," Alber said, "we created an enormous amount of chances and for whatever reason, we couldn't either finish or the other team just did a good job."

Alber called the victory a "total team effort" as every member of the team played. She also complimented the back line for a second consecutive shutout. St. Anthony's condensed the field, limited Sacred Heart's opportunities and played its offense through the midfield.

"I thought our performance was good and we need to build on that tomorrow," Alber said.

And that performance will be at comfortable St. Anthony's for the Friars. It will give the seniors the ultimate opportunity in their final high school soccer match.

Said Alber: "To be able to play your championship game on your home field and hopefully come out with a win will be pretty special for our seniors and our school."