BEDFORD – St. Thomas Aquinas High School girls soccer senior midfielder Reece Anderson passed the ball a few feet to her right. Awaiting the ball was junior midfielder Charlotte De Tolla, who was ready to put a big kick on it.
De Tolla struck the ball, and then it hit the back of the net to give the third-seeded Saints a 1-0 first-half lead over No. 2 Raymond on Monday in a Division III semifinal at Bedford High School. The Saints didn’t relinquish the lead and advanced to their fourth straight state championship with a 1-0 win.
“(Anderson) made that beautiful pass and I was just there to (score the goal),” De Tolla said. “That just got our team morale up. We were all so hyped after that and that just led us through the game.”
St. Thomas Aquinas head coach Patrick Hureau said that goal would stand up until Raymond scored.
“And fortunately, they never did,” Hureau said. “This is kind of the story of this team, we’ve just found ways to win and hang with good teams.”
St. Thomas Aquinas improved to 16-1-2, while Raymond finished at 16-2-1.
The Saints, who beat Gilford in last year’s state championship, will face No. 5 Stevens in Saturday’s championship. Stevens (16-3) upset No. 1 Gilford, 2-0, in Monday’s other semifinal. Saturday’s game is scheduled for 1 p.m. at Bedford High School.
“It feels great (to be moving on),” senior goalie Genna Bolduc said. “It feels good to be back.”
St. Thomas Aquinas lost to Stevens, 4-0 back in early October in the only regular-season meeting between the two schools.
STA has yet to allow a goal in three postseason games, beating Prospect Mountain, 2-0 in the first round and Derryfield, 1-0 in the quarterfinals.
“Having (Bolduc) in the net is a pretty big advantage,” Hureau said. “I don’t think it’s close that she’s the best keeper in our division. Our defense is really solid, we bend but don’t break.”
Bolduc, who had 14 saves, called the defenders in front of her a ‘wall,’ even calling teammate and defender Ava Lyder a ‘speed demon.’ But De Tolla said Bolduc is a ‘wall’ herself.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen a better goalie than Genna,” De Tolla said. “How she comes out of net is crazy, her saves are good.”
“It’s definitely a lot of pressure, but I know my team is going to back me no matter what happens,” Bolduc said. “Whether I let in a goal or not, our defense became a wall back there”.”
DeTolla said it was “amazing’ to come up big for her team in a big moment, providing the game’s only goal.
“I didn’t expect to be the goal scorer today, but it was electric,” she said. “The stands went crazy. Honestly, it’s just a team effort. I think the thing I loved the most was all my teammates were there to congratulate me after.”
De Tolla said she’s ‘so happy’ to play for another state championship.
“It’s like a once in a lifetime experience,” she said. “It’s just a blessing and you can’t take it for granted … and I’m just so happy to do it with this St. Thomas team.” “
