BTW Girls Celebrate State Soccer Championship
By MIKE MOGUIN
Midtown Monitor Sports Writer
NUMBER ONE: Booker T. Washington girls celebrate their state championship in soccer on May 12 in Sand Springs.
Courtesy BTW Athletics
Booker T. Washington is known for its tradition of state championships in sports. The school now has a trophy in its case for soccer, which comes by way of the Lady Hornets’ 1-0 win over Cascia Hall in the Class 5A girls state final in Mid-May in Sand Springs.
The Hornets finished the season 16-2, having won 15 straight and outscoring opponents 64-4 during that stretch.
Junior forward/midfielder Lauren Cousins scored the game’s only goal, finding an open shot from less than 10 yards with 12:37 left in the first half. Sophomore Grace Pettet was credited with the assist.
“I felt relief,” Cousins says. “I was just calm and in control, and I tapped it around and then I finished. I was just staying calm and wanting to finish for the moment.”
By game’s end, Cousins, as well as her teammates, was ecstatic.
“Awesome! Amazing! Best feeling in the world,” she says. “From the start of this year, I was like, ‘We’re winning state! We’re doing it this year! It’s the year, and ever since, we’ve been pumped!
“The feeling is unreal! I love it! It’s great,” she says.
Senior goalkeeper Lauren Ketchum made some key saves, including a critical one with 1:23 left in the contest.
“I just knew to stick to my skills, stick to what I learned growing up and just play my game,” Ketchum says. “I knew not to let up even though we were one up. I’d say I just played my game.”
Ketchum totaled six saves for the game.
It was also big for , after struggling in recent years competing in Class 6A.
“Honestly, I can’t explain. It is so surreal,” Ketchum says. “Our team has just been working all year for this. Even before I was a freshman, we were getting beat pretty bad in 6A, then we moved down and here we are, winning state and on top. It feels great!
“It means everything to me,” adds Ketchum, who will continue to play soccer at Wheaton College in Illinois. “I’ve grown up playing soccer. Going into high school, I knew I wanted to play. Just working hard and staying with it and it honestly means the world to me.”
The Lady Hornets did commend the efforts of Cascia Hall and said the game felt just as much a championship billing on the field as it showed on the scoreboard.
“They really did show out,” Cousins says. “It is the state final. They’re going to show up. They’re going to try their hardest. They’re going to give it all they got. We just had to battle. The second half was a full battle. Not really any shots.”
“We all kind of know each other,” Ketchum says. “I’ve played club with a few of their girls. I think it was more of a mental game than physical, just keeping our head in the game even though we were one up and not letting down in the heat and playing all the way through the whistle.”
“We earned it! We definitely earned it,” Cousins says.
When asked how they would remember the 2018 season, the girls said it is the team bonding.
“The friendships! Definitely, the friendships. The team and the friendships,” Cousins says.
“Probably just this team,” Ketchum adds. “We’ve molded together, we’ve worked hard all the way through the year, and just the support from the school, coming out here all the way to Sand Springs and supporting us, and of course, winning state. I’ll never forget.”
Updated 06-26-2018
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