Humble Beginnings
When St. John’s became a co-educational institution in 1991, it was also the first season of girls soccer. St. John’s has gone from humble beginnings to one of the best girls soccer teams in the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference.
Kathleen Baldwin coached the first girls soccer team. St. John's participated on the junior varsity level in 1991 and 1992. In 1992, the team finished with an 8-4-2 record and placed second in the regular season and third in the post-season tournament. Included in the wins were triumphs over traditional powershouses Bishop O’Connell (1-0) and Good Counsel (5-1). Competing as a varsity team in 1994, St. John’s won the WCAC Division II Championship.
Under the leadership of Head Coach Alan Capps, St. John’s posted a 9-9-1 record in 1995. Their one tie was a deadlock against second place Good Counsel. However, Bishop Ireton ended the Cadets season in the playoffs. Led by Chris Longhurst in 1996, the Cadets finished with a winning record.
In 1998, St. John’s finished with a 6-13 record, but earned a berth in the WCAC Tournament. Even though it was a loss, one of the best matches of the season was a 1-0 loss to nationally ranked Bishop O’Connell. The team was led by senior captains Lizzie Weeks, Laura Manco, Katie Walsh and Kristin Carey.
Winning It All
Finally in 2002, St. John's broke through as an all-freshman starting lineup helped lead St. John’s to a winning record. The Cadets built on their success by posting an 8-4-6 record in 2003. However, St. John’s season came to an abrupt end as Bishop Ireton upset the second seeded Cadets, 2-1, in overtime.
St. John’s put together their best single-season mark with a 20-4 record in 2004. The Cadets started the season 10-1, including five wins at the Eastern Shore Tournament.
St. John’s won their final four matches of the regular season as they headed into the WCAC Tournament. In the first round, St. John’s avenged a regular season defeat with a 4-1 win over Paul VI. However, the Cadets season ended in the second round as they were eliminated by conference powerhouse Bishop O’Connell.
After a disappointing end to the 2004 season, the all-freshman class from 2002 celebrated the school’s first girls soccer WCAC title in 2005. Everything came together as a talented group led St. John’s to a 21-5 record. Entering the WCAC Tournament as the third seed, St. John’s knocked off top-seed Good Counsel, 2-0, in the semifinals. In the finals against fourth-seed Bishop Ireton, sophomore Tiffany McCarty recorded a hat trick in the Cadets 5-1 win for their first WCAC Girls Soccer championship. In addition, ten student-athletes earned all-conference honors and Erin Rudy and Jessica Stone were selected to play in an all star game.
St. John's was ready to defend their conference title in 2006, and they persevered through a rash of injuries and illnesses to post a 19-3-1 regular season record. St. John's advanced to the WCAC title game, but the Cadets fell short to Bishop O'Connell in a 3-2 loss. Only four student-athletes graduated after the 2006 season, setting up another conference title run in 2007.
After the disappointing ending to the 2006 season, St. John's added another conference title in 2007. The Cadets started the season as the No. 1 ranked team nationally. When the season ended, St. John's defeated defending champion Bishop O'Connell for their second WCAC Championship in three years. At the same time, Tiffany McCarty concluded her St. John's career with 191 career goals, the most goals by a Washington-area high school soccer player.
The Lennon Era
Late in August 2008, SJC Athletic Director Tom Veith installed Colin Lennon, former assistant coach of the George Washington University Women's Soccer Team, as the Cadets new Head Coach. Lennon, an NSCAA All-American and professional goalkeeper, quietly amassed wins in his first month as the Cadets marched through the WCAC regular season and began to dominate the Washington Post and NSCAA Regional Polls.
Led by Bailey Bodell (Maryland), Remy Gibba (Purdue) and Dana Palmioto (Tampa), the Cadets established themselves as the team to beat in the Baltimore-Washington corridor, and were on various college radar screens as the senior corps of Bodell, Gibba and Palmioto solidified the Cadet XI alongside fellow upper classmen Sara Kneeland (Tampa) and Krissia Vasquez (Radford).
St. John's finished first in the WCAC regular season table and marched its way to the tournament final against a spirited O'Connell side. Gibba and Kneeland provided the scoring punch while Bodell, Palmiotto and junior 'keeper Molly Carter (Mt. Saint Mary's) thwarted wave after wave of scoring chances from the talented Knights. When the final whistle blew, St. John's earned its third WCAC crown and later finished ranked first in the 2008 Washington Post Girls Soccer Poll.
In Lennon's second year, the Cadets were devastated by multiple injuries to several key starters and struggled throughout the 2009 regular season. However, Lennon's fortitude and patience with his young side paid off as the Cadets went on a roll throughout the playoffs only to return to the championship final of the WCAC Tournament.
Staged at the Maryland SoccerPlex, St. John's faced an exceptional Good Counsel XI that captured the regular season title and was favored to win by a number of media sources. Led by seniors Rosie Brinkenhoff (Delaware) and Deja Walker (Wisconsin), St. John's battled Good Counsel for 120 minutes as both teams attacked and defended with poise under pressure. However, Good Counsel found the winner in the 118th minute following a scramble in front of the Cadets goal, and held on to take home the 2009 WCAC Tournament Crown.
The official blog of the St. John's (D.C.) College High School Women's Soccer Program.
