The Saint Mary’s Hall Barons celebrate their state soccer title. Courtesy photo

The Saint Mary’s Hall girls’ varsity soccer team wrapped up its season last month by winning the Southwest Preparatory Conference (SPC) Division II championship in Houston, on February 8 and 9.

The state title was the sixth for the girls’ squad. The team took state twice in the 1970’s under Coach Keith Dias and in 1983, 1989, 1990; and now 2008 under current Coach Brian Kaestner.

The Barons finished 23-3-2 for the season and entered the tournament as the top seed. They girls defeated Arlington Oakridge, 4-0, in the quarterfinal, then took out the Fort Worth

All-Saints, 3-1, in the semifinal, before defeating Tulsa Holland Hall, 4-1, in the final.

Seniors Madeline Low and Lauren O’Malley were named to both the SPC All-South Zone team and the SPC All-Conference team. The victory in the final was Kaestner’s 700th game as Saint Mary’s Hall girls’ soccer coach. He is currently 389-238-73 at SMH.

During this year’s campaign, SMH scored an average of 3.18 goals per game, while allowing their opponents 0.68 goals per game. In addition, Low was one of 36 players across the country named to the 2007 NSCAA/Adidas All-American Scholar/Athlete team, while O’Malley signed a letter of intent to play soccer next year at the Savannah School of Art and Design.