Benedictine, St. Vincent's playing for soccer state titles today

Benedictine and St. Vincent's have been linked for more than a century, and the sports teams from both schools have arguably two of the most ardent fan bases in Savannah.

On Friday, the Benedictine and St. Vincent's soccer teams will each be playing for their second consecutive GHSA Class 2A state crowns at Mercer University.

St. Vincent's (17-3-1) will face off with Oglethorpe County (14-3-1) starting at noon, and Benedictine (17-3-1) will take on Putnam County (18-1-1) at 2:30 p.m.

Last year, St. Vincent's rolled to a 10-0 win over East Laurens to win the title, and BC beat Coosa 4-1 as the sister and brother schools celebrated in Macon.

St. Vincent's has just four seniors on the squad this year, but an influx of young talent has the Saints playing at an elite level once again.

"We're real excited," senior forward Cara Diaz said after a team dinner on campus Thursday night. "The older girls are trying to help the younger girls get over their nerves. But we want to get back and repeat the history we made last year. We're confident with what we're going to bring to this game."

Diaz said the team had watched film of Oglethorpe County, and the Patriots had some strong players up front. But defense has been a strength for SVA all season, as the Saints have allowed just 26 goals on the year  — while scoring 126.

Furman-bound Lauren O'Hearn is the leader of the Saints' back line, and she said SVA will be ready come game time. It will be the third straight title appearance for O'Hearn and her senior classmates. SVA lost to Lovett in the finals 2-0 in their sophomore year.

"They connect well with their crossing and finishing," O'Hearn said. "And they capitalize on their opportunities. We're going to try to stop the crossing to begin with, and if they do get a cross off, we're going to be marking well and clearing the ball out. This is the third straight state final for our senior class, and we want to go up their and bring another championship."

Benedictine's Charles Moore, who coaches the Cadets along with Jack Turbiville, said the Cadets are expecting a good match against Putnam County.

"We've seen some footage and they are very similar to Thomasville," Moore said of the squad BC beat 2-0 in the semifinals. "They are very physical and they don't give up a lot of goals, but they don't score a lot, either."

BC has excellent chemistry this season. Mason Stoever is a rock on the back line, and keeper Tyler Brands has posted 18 shutouts. Sophomore Gavin Stewart has netted 40 goals with 11 assists, and senior Drew Lisicia has 32 goals and 16 assists.

"We're going to stick to our style of play," Moore said. "The way we do it is more than about winning or losing. We want to play classy, pass and move the ball and eventually wear the other team out. Our philosophy is if we keep the ball, you can't score. We move the ball very fluidly. We don't really have a superstar, but we have a lot of really good players."

Moore said he has heard that no sports team in BC history has won back-to-back state titles.

"So it would be really nice to do that," Moore said.