The A.C. Flora Falcons, 2025 SCHSL 4A Girls Soccer State Champions: 0 Kennedy Bagley; 2 Annalee Jordan; 3 Naomi Martin; 4 Rachel Britt; 5 Hayden Rowe; 6 Mackinley O’Niell; 7 Ella Foley; 8 Emily Sitton; 9 Reese Hudgens; 10 Ashlynn Capell; 11 Liza Stavrou; 12 Evan Dampier; 13 Emma Valdes; 14 Kristian Mason; 15 Caroline Hendricks; 16 Mary Elizabeth Riddle; 17 Coles Milliken; 18 Addie Coffer; 21 Stokely Haile; 22 Anna Grace Painter; 23 Laura Boggs; 32 Samantha Lawther; Assistant Coaches Sarah Hulett, Michael Otto, Ian Hamilton, Meredith Bailey, Lily Knobel, and Lauren Hudgens; Head Coach Eric Navarro; Athletic Director Michele Yeater; and Principal Susan Childs. Photos by Mike Maddock
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On one wall in the A.C. Flora gym are painted banners commemorating each Falcon state championship. Later this year, A.C. Flora administrators will have to add the Falcons’ girls soccer team for the first time following a 1-nil win over the Bishop England Battling Bishops Saturday, May 24 in the 4A Girls Soccer State Championship game.
“What’s going through my mind is everything… and everything… and everything,” A.C. Flora head coach Eric Navarro said. “You start out the season saying you want to be the best team in the state. You want to be the best team in the division, but to get there takes a lot of work. It takes a lot of commitment. At times it just takes a lot of work. Sometimes it goes your way; sometimes it doesn’t.
“The fact we played a very strong Bishop England team. They had a lot of possessions, a lot of shots on us. It was that resilience that we’ve been working on all season. For them to earn that reward of getting that state championship, for buying into what we’ve been preaching all season, it’s just amazing for them but also for these seniors to leave a legacy for the school to try to follow up on.”
A.C. Flora’s Emma Valdes outruns Bishop England’s Sophia DeMarco.
The sole goal of the match came in the 58th minute from a set piece off a corner kick, which has become a staple in the A.C. Flora offense. Emma Valdes lofted a kick in front of the Bishop England goal. Samantha Lawther out jumped the Battling Bishop defenders to send a header screaming to the back of the net for a 1-nil lead.
“On our first corner Emma took, it was a beautiful corner by the way, I almost got a head on it and the keeper just hit it out of the way,” Lawther said. “I knew I had a chance at the other goal. I just went all out. I always tell the team everything in, everything forward, and that’s just what I tried to do. I got it in. That’s something I dream of everyday.”
It was the Falcon defense, highlighted by keeper Kennedy Bagley’s 16 saves, that put A.C. Flora in position for the goal to be the deciding factor. Bagley kept the Battling Bishops off the board in the first half with a variety of saves.
A.C. Flora’s Kennedy Bagley comes up with one of her 16 saves against Bishop England.
“This is only my second year playing soccer, so I was just hungry for it,” Bagley said. “I really wanted it for our seniors and our whole team. I saw how bad they wanted it.
“I started off a little nervous. As soon as that first shot came, I felt like I wanted them to kick it at me. I knew I could get to it.”
The Falcons’ defense passed its first test in the third minute when Sophia DeMarco delivered a corner kick to the A.C. Flora box. Elizabeth Brady tried to one-time the ball to the goal, but it sailed just wide.
Four minutes later, the Battling Bishops were back in scoring position. However, Bagley collected a cross from Ava Delpino before it could do any damage.
Bagley also stopped a free kick from DeMarco in the 12th minute as the game remained scoreless.
One of Bagley’s toughest first half saves came in the 19th minute when she collected a free kick from Evey Trego and withstood a hit from DeMarco while still holding onto the ball.
A.C. Flora’s Ashlynn Capell heads a ball as Bishop England’s Rosie Cunnane defends.
Then with the clock winding down in the first half, Bishop England’s Charlotte Cline sent a pass to Brady who again one timed a shot to the goal. Bagley got a deflection before securing the save as the game remained scoreless at the break.
The Falcons’ closest shot on goal in the first half came in the 17th minute when Liza Stavrou sailed a shot wide of the net. In the second half, A.C. Flora mounted a little more offense. Along with the goal in the 58th minute, the Falcons nearly had a second two minutes later. Once again, Valdes delivered a corner kick into the Battling Bishops’ box. Lawther, again, got a head on the ball. However, this time the ball deflected off Kristian Mason and was collected by Bishop England keeper Claire Murray.
The game closed out with Bagley coming up with more big saves as A.C. Flora secured the win and the state championship.
A.C. Flora head coach Eric Navarro celebrates with his assistant coaches.
“This is probably one of the best defenses we’ve had in the program since I’ve been here and that’s since 2018,” Navarro said. A.C. Flora’s backline includes Lawther, Rachel Britt, Addie Coffer, and Laura Briggs, along with midfielders Ashlynn Capell, Mary Elizabeth Riddle, and Valdes. “Between the combination of players I’ve had, the keeper we have, it’s just one of the best units. If you just look at the numbers, people might say the competition isn’t great, but every time we’ve played a strong team we’ve come out on top or it’s been a close one, so we’re doing well.I’m hoping next year the players who have been on the roster will step up and we can keep this thing going.”
The Falcons finish the season with a 27-2 record.
A.C. Flora’s Samantha Lawther heads the ball away from Bishop Englands’ Ava Delpino.
A.C. Flora’s Addie Coffer heads the ball away from the Falcon box.
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