Senior midfielder Annie Bloom and sophomore striker Maria Gonzalez racked up seven goals for St. Thomas More/Rapid City Christian as they blanked Harrisburg in the championship match of girls A division of the 2007 Toyota Cup. Bloom opened up scoring with her first goal came in the 13^th minute, with an assist from Cassie Roost. Gonzalez scored her first and second goals, including a header goal, off Bloom corner kicks, to put the Cavs up 3-0 at the half.

Annie Bloom

Bloom again opened second half scoring with back to back goals in the 71^st and 72^nd minutes. Maria Gonzalez and Katie Kusser provided the service on those shots. Gonzalez wrapped up the 7-0 victory with a goal in the 80^th minute, assisted by Bre Habbe, and a final unassisted goal in the 88^th minute.

Katie Kusser fights off two defenders earlier in tourney action.

“We broke the curse!” proclaimed St. Thomas More head coach Doug Noyes. “We have had undefeated seasons in the past and not lost until the championship game. This year we are 12-0!” And they are the champions. This is the third state championship for the St. Thomas More/Rapid City Christian girls, who also won in 2002 and 2004.

Marie Gonzales

”I have to attribute our successful season to our defense keeping the shots down,” said Noyes. “The defense really didn’t let Harrisburg threaten much today either. We played the width of the field and they let Maria Gonzalez in. You can’t do that because she will score.”

Untied, Undefeated, Unchallenged STM/RCCS Seniors Ashley Kusser, Anne Bloom, Brittany Weifenbach, Breanna Habbe, Tia Lester

By the end of the tournament, the Lady Cavs had scored an impressive 69 goals for the season while allowing only 8. Noyes noted however that “the most important thing about this year is that we had a lot of fun and the girls really enjoyed each other.”