This year, the Cardinals fell to the Vikings 2-1 in penalty strokes in a state-qualifying tournament final last Saturday. A year ago, Academy won 1-0 in a state semifinal.

Last Saturday, the Cardinals played well against Academy, especially in the second half and first overtime period. In those two parts of the game, Thomas had 10 corners to the Vikings' three.

Thomas forward Lauren Geiser opened the game with a goal 11 minutes into the first half. Academy answered with a goal nine minutes later by Jessi Pickering off of a corner that tied the score at 1.

After two overtimes, the two teams went to penalty strokes. Tierney Ford was the only Cardinal to score in the team's first three attempts and the Vikings scored on their first four, giving Academy a 4-1 advantage in penalty strokes and a 2-1 win.

"I thought we played a great game, especially in the second half and in the overtimes," coach Terri Simonetti-Frost said. "Whenever you play a top team like Academy, you're going to have a dogfight and that's what it was.

"I felt like the second half was all played on their end and we had a lot of great opportunities. Our shots were great, and that was just an opportunity we didn't hit."

Thomas finished the season 14-3. The Cardinals missed qualifying for the state tournament for the first time in three years.

Thomas came from behind and scored three goals in the final 8 minutes, 30 seconds of the game to defeat Olentangy Liberty 3-1 in a state-qualifying tournament semifinal.

"We came out slow and we were playing not to win, just to not lose," midfielder Anna Simmons said. "Once we got that first ball in the cage, we got things rolling after that."

The Cardinals were a young team this season. Thomas will lose just three seniors in Kat Miller (defender), Abby Simmons (attack) and Anna Simmons (midfielder). Expected to return for the Cardinals are juniors Ford (defender), Kristi Gegas (midfielder) Libby Lewis (attack), Marissa Metcalf (goalkeeper), and Lea Vander Molen (defender), sophomores Kieran Ford (defender), Geiser (attack), Sam Keuhnl (defender) and Cami Mullins (midfielder) and freshmen Katie Holman (attack), Anna Schomaker (attack) and Sophie Tikson (midfielder).

I'm really proud of my girls, they did a great job this year," Simonetti-Frost said.

•Kilbourne saw its season end with a 3-0 loss to Olentangy Liberty on Oct. 21 in the second round of the state-qualifying tournament. The Wolves finished 7-9-1.

"Once we got the point where the girls accepted me and my coaching and I accepted them, things ran much more smoothly after that," coach Michele Hazzard said.

"They're a great bunch of girls and they worked real hard this year. I know we've got a few things to work on, and we'll get on that in the offseason."

Kilbourne will lose a large senior class of 11 players, seven of whom were starters, including Danielle Hart (goalkeeper) and Katherine O'Harra (attack), the team's leading scorer.

Key players expected to return for the Wolves are Angel Burwell (defender), Laura Erlenbush (defender/goalkeeper), Kelsey Furbee (attack/midfielder) and Anna Notestine (attack). Erlenbush was the backup goalie for the Wolves, but as injuries and the flu struck, Hazzard needed somebody to step up as a defender and turned to Erlenbush.

"I think in the offseason we need to improve our body positioning. We need to make sure we're getting in the right position, defensively," Hazzard said. "We need to talk better as a team to work better as a team. And we need to improve our stick-work as well. A lot of the girls are still playing high up on their sticks, and of course if they're doing that then they're not getting low enough."

Thomas' Kristi Gegas has a shot stopped Columbus Academy goalie Alicia Tamarkin last Saturday during their state-qualifying tournament final.

The Cardinals' Tierney Ford (left) and Academy's Jessi Pickering battle for control of the ball.

At a glance

KILBOURNE

•Record: 7-9-1 overall, 7-3-1 (sixth) in COFHL

•Key returnees: Angel Burwell, Laura Erlenbush, Kelsey Furbee and Anna Notestine

THOMAS

•Record: 14-3 overall, 10-1-0 (first) in COFHL

•Seniors lost: Kat Miller, Abby Simmons and Anna Simmons

•Key returnees: Lauren Geiser, Kristi Gegas, Libby Lewis and Marissa Metcalf