Summit Christian finishes second in Missouri Class 1 girls soccer
Kassi Ginther spent the final game of her illustrious Summit Christian Academy career surrounded by physical St. Vincent defenders and rarely seeing the ball.
That was a bad combination for Summit Christian, which had relied on Ginther and its high-scoring offense to create almost all of its victories during the season. Ginther scored one goal early on in the game on Thursday, but St. Vincent (Perryville) would get the next two and claim a 2-1 victory in the Missouri Class 1 girls soccer final at Swope Soccer Village.
Ginther scored her goal early, set up by fellow forward Faith Fields from the top of the 18-yard box for a straight-on shot in the 5th minute. It was her 123rd goal of the season, and the national career record she set with a hat trick against Fatima in Wednesday’s semifinals will stand at 319.
The chances would come few and far between afterward.
“There were at least two on me all the time,” Ginther said. “The girls were talking about me, and they were like, ‘We can’t let her have the ball.’”
St. Vincent, 20-5-1, equalized quickly when Kalli Seabaugh took a ball that floated into the box and lobbed it over Summit Christian goalkeeper Makenna McGraw. Seabaugh, St. Vincent’s second-leading scorer with 17 goals, almost scored again minutes later when she banged a point-blank shot off the crossbar.
Summit Christian, meanwhile, struggled to clear the ball out of its half of the field against St. Vincent’s physical defenders.
“They definitely knew who she was,” Summit Christian coach Amber Siemsen said of Ginther. “They were ready for her. All the girls worked hard to try to get her the ball, and she worked hard to try to come back too. It just didn’t fall the right way.”
Ginther and Summit Christian created more chances early in the second half, including a free kick from the top of the arc that sailed over the cross bar. But the Eagles couldn’t finish, and St. Vincent got the go-ahead goal on a header by Lauren Carron off a corner kick in the 62nd minute.
Ginther did get one good chance to equalize in the closing minute off a free kick that landed at her feet near the right post, but St. Vincent goalie Courtney Brewer swatted away the shot with a diving save.
“Whenever she has the ball at her feet I always think she can do it,” Siemsen said. “That was close. It was a little nerve racking.”
Summit Christian, 24-4, finished one victory shy of the first team championship in the school’s history. Ginther found some consolation in getting to play for a state championship before heading off this fall to Iowa State.
“I’m going to remember this for the rest of my life,” Ginther said. “I was really blessed and honored to play for SCA.”
This story was originally published June 1, 2017 at 7:28 PM with the headline "Summit Christian finishes second in Missouri Class 1 girls soccer."