The Paul VI High School girls soccer team set out to do the unthinkable.
After winning the school’s first soccer state championship last year, the Eagles wanted to raise the bar this season and somehow top the incredible ride they experienced just 12 months ago.
On Nov. 16, they completed their mission. Not only did Paul VI win its second straight Non-Public A state title, but it did so perfectly. The Eagles went undefeated in 24 games.
“We just want to establish a standard at the program,” Eagles coach Karen Anderson said. “And I think now the players coming in — the future seventh and eighth-graders — are looking at these girls and they are saying, ‘I want to be them.’”
Like many of Paul VI’s games this season, the championship game was a tense nail-biter that was decided in the later moments. The Eagles’ powerful, multi-pronged attack wasn’t able to break through until 8:13 left in the game when junior Eleanor Lawyer ran underneath a high, looping pass from defender Catherine Aversa that was knocked down by a swirling wind. Lawyer settled it with one touch and belted a high shot from about 25 yards out to supply the only goal in a 1-0 victory over Immaculate Heart Academy in the Non-Public A state championship game.
“I saw it and it had one bounce. I just wanted to shoot it,” Lawyer said. “We had the wind. As soon as I hit it, I knew it was going in.”
Weather-wise, the game featured a little bit of everything. There was sun, rain, cold and heavy gusts of wind that certainly affected both teams as the sun dipped over the horizon in the second half.
“It was on and off raining and cold and very windy,” Lawyer said. “Just being able to battle through every single thing and sticking together as a team. I think that helped us a lot.”
Just like last year, Paul VI goalkeeper Chloe Krupa made an enormous save prior to the Eagles scoring the game-winner. The junior goalie didn’t allow a goal in the state playoffs this year and has yet to allow a goal in a state championship game as the Eagles also won 1-0 last year.
“I just rely on my defense and everyone on the field and we all just band together and that’s how we win these great things,” Krupa said. “It’s honestly just teamwork and without my back line, I wouldn’t have all these shutouts.”
The Eagles exemplified that each time they took the field. The 2025 season has been a steady rotation of different heroes earning their spotlight. It was Lawyer’s turn in the final game of the year.
championship. (Photo by Mark Zimmaro)
“It was going to take one of our five or seven players that have been consistently putting goals up on the board that was going to come up big,” Anderson said. “I think that’s what made us such a dynamic team this year. The girls understand that it might not be one player’s moment. But it might be someone else’s moment. And that’s what I taught them this whole time is to play together as a team because we never know when we need that one person to step up. And today it was Eleanor.”
Junior Kylie Berk may not have ended up on the scoresheet this game, but she had an incredible impact throughout the year, including the state championship game. The midfielder was injured in the state semifinal last year and was on the sideline for the championship last season. She was extra motivated this year.
“Last year it was obviously good that we won, but I was a little down that I couldn’t play,” Berk said. “I knew that coming in this year that I had a lot to prove. I was a little nervous coming into the game considering I didn’t play last year, but I did what I had to do and we did great.”
Berk said the experience of watching her team pull out an overtime win on the big stage helped calm her nerves.
“I was so excited to get on the field. I couldn’t wait,” Berk said. “We just had to come out and work hard. I think it showed that we wanted it more than them. That’s what led us to score and to win.”
After winning a championship last season, Paul VI was no longer the pesky underdog as the Eagles were on everyone’s radar in South Jersey. Despite the added attention, Paul VI won the highly competitive South Jersey Coaches Cup for the first time in school history. They also battled through their tough Olympic Conference schedule and an extremely competitive non-league slate.
“We knew from November last year that we had a target on our backs,” Krupa said. “We had this high expectation and we lived up to it. Everyone at our school — we had to prove it to them and prove it to ourselves and prove it to the people who pour all their time into us. Honestly, at the end of the day, we knew we were the better team and we just had to push through.”
Lawyer said she knew it all along. Just like she knew her historic shot was headed for the top right corner of the net.
“This is just what we imagined, an undefeated season,” Lawyer said. “It went exactly how we wanted it to go.”
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