UNDEFEATED

Norman North girls soccer wins second straight 6A state championship

Nothing could keep the Timberwolves from repeating as state champions. Not COVID-19, not red cards, nobody on their schedule.

Norman North completed an undefeated 16-0 season with a 2-1 victory over Edmond North at Taft Stadium in the Class 6A girls soccer state championship match. Since the 2020 season was cut short after three games, the Timberwolves finally got their chance to defend their 2019 title.

With almost entirely new faces, North polished off a perfect season and has now won 23 straight, dating back to the start of the 2019 postseason.

“The season was great,” Norman North head girls soccer coach Trevor Laffoon said. “It was fun. The girls played great. They always give me a hard time that I’m never happy, but I was happy after the game.

“Luckily for me and the coaching staff, we just have a good group of players… though we may not have the greatest soccer players ever, we have girls that work hard and care for each other. We’re lucky in that aspect.”

Senior midfielder Meredith McAlester was the lone Norman North player on this team that saw playing time in the 2019 championship season.

“None of these girls really played in 2019,” Laffoon said. “Meredith played a little. She played in the state final so they’re all pretty new. They definitely played a role last year, in the year that got cut short.”

McAlester gave the T-Wolves a quick lead in the state championship. Just over six minutes into the first half, McAlester received a pass outside the box from freshman forward Narissa Fults and lasered a shot into the back of the net past the Edmond North keeper’s fingertips.

“I looked up and just saw I had some space and a little bit of time,” McAlester said. “I thought, ‘Okay, this is my moment. Hopefully, it ends up in the right spot.’ Luckily, I shot back post and that was where I was hoping it went and, sure enough, it was able to go in and that was just a great start to the game.”

Fast starts were a staple of this championship run. It took just two minutes to score their first goal on the road at Bixby in the state semifinal when sophomore midfielder Presslee Amick deposited one off a corner kick.

“Scoring first is so important in soccer and for our team, because it gives you that motivation for the rest of the game. Also, as a defender, it’s definitely encouraging and motivating to work even harder to keep it out of the net,” said senior defender Lindsey Miller.

McAlester’s tally was the only goal on the scoreboard in the state championship until the second half. Five minutes into the second half, junior forward Jada Ryan delivered a beautiful pass ahead to Fults that set her up with just the Edmond North goalie to beat.

Fults fired short side, fooling the goalie and Norman North led, 2-0.

“I never had any doubts in my mind that Jada and Narissa were going to be able to put the ball in the back of the net for us. They have been constantly great players, great scorers for us all season,” senior defender Kenady Humphers said. “Having those two up there has made us able to relax and to just rely on their ability to get us goals. Especially in those games when we really needed those goals, I knew they would make it happen for us.”

Inside of ten minutes remaining with the Timberwolves still protecting a two-goal advantage, it felt like perhaps the drama was done. That changed when Ryan was sent off with a red card with 9:36 left to play.

Just like in the 2019 state title match against Mustang, suddenly Norman North was playing the remainder down a player.

“I guess it’s not a state title if we don’t get a red card,” Laffoon joked. “Actually, when we got the red card, I wasn’t really nervous to be honest because we played Southmoore in the first round with a red card and we were tied 1-1 at halftime. So, we had to play a whole half down.

“For us to play nine minutes down a player, I was pretty confident. You can definitely tell that we had some good leaders, some good seniors and good juniors that led the way. Everyone was very composed and kept the train rolling.”

Edmond North’s Jozalynn Ridge made things suspenseful when she scored to halve the deficit with the clock winding down, but the Huskies never seriously threatened again and Norman North secured its successful title defense.

“Jada is one of our key players,” senior midfielder Prestley Gabriel said. “So, at first, you’re kind of in shock that it just happened. But, I don’t think there was ever a time that our team let it get to us and we really kept our composure, stayed calm and knew we could get through it.”

After losing the 2020 season to the pandemic, the Timberwolves weren’t taking any chances during the 2021 playoffs. They quarantined from school during the playoffs to guard against any potential contact tracing issues.

“We were essentially forced to hang out with each other. Not forced, but it was really the only people we saw for a matter of two weeks,” McAlester said. “The girls, we just all became so close. I think that was part of our success, this year was that we were all just willing to work for one another.”

Losing the 2020 season gave the team an appreciation for each game, too.

“It was honestly almost more of a motivator than anything else,” Miller said. “It was like, okay, this could be our last game if we all got quarantined right now and the playoffs were over. That could be it for us. We have to play like we’re not going to play again.”

The Timberwolves might not be done winning any time soon either. Norman North is set to return eight of its 11 starters next season as they attempt the three-peat.

“We should be good, fingers crossed,” Laffoon said. “We’ve got some freshmen coming in that everyone is already telling me about, so that’s exciting. Any time you’re a younger player in seventh or eighth grade, I think it’s exciting to see the team go 16-0 and win.”– BSM