Kennedy Leverett, Our Lady Academy knock off St. Andrew's to win MHSAA Class 1 Championship

RIDGELAND — It took penalty kicks, but Our Lady Academy ended St. Andrew’s two-year championship streak with a 2-1 win to clinch the MHSAA Class 1 Championship Saturday afternoon at Ridgeland High School.

After playing to a 1-1 tie in 110 minutes of action, the game came down to five penalty kicks for each team. Both teams made the first four kicks, but OLA’s Kennedy Leverett drilled the Crescents’ fifth kick and keeper Alexis Ladner made a diving save on the fifth St. Andrew’s attempt.

“It was just one of those games that could have gone either way right up until the end,” Our Lady Academy coach Caroline Grieves said. “We knew we would have to earn it against a team as good as St. Andrew’s. We haven’t played too many teams of their caliber and I wasn’t sure how we would respond, but I was proud of the girls and the way they approached the challenge.”

Leverett earned MVP honors after making the final kick, but she also scored OLA’s only regulation goal in the second minute of the match.

The rest of the first half was fairly uneventful, with St. Andrew’s missing a free kick (wide right) from just outside the penalty area in the 31st minute and Ladner spoiling a great scoring opportunity for St. Andrew’s with a diving save in the 38th minute.

All that aggressiveness from the St. Andrew’s attackers paid off early in the second half. Junior Gigi Fraser was giving the Lady Crescent defense all kinds of trouble, and the ball bounced off of one of them and right into the net for an own-goal.

The Saints (12-5-2) did everything they could to win it in regulation down the stretch, but struggled to finish a couple of good opportunities.

The Saints had two goals waved off in a span of three minutes — one for offsides and another for an off-the-ball foul after Fraser headed a ball home and was in mid-celebration.

“There was a lot of intimidation going against a team that’s already won back-to-back championships,” Leverett said. “But I think once the game got going, we just stayed focused on what we needed to do.”

The championship was the first in 10 years for Our Lady Academy (12-5-2).