The 2026 varsity girls soccer season ended in dramatic fashion last Thursday night as the No. 13-ranked Lady Spartans battled No. 1-ranked (and 2025 State Runner-Up) Denver in a Class 1A Regional Championship in Denver. 80 scoreless minutes of regulation play led to two overtime periods. With 44 seconds remaining, and the prospect of a penalty kick (PK) shootout looming to settle the match and determine who would advance to this week’s State Tournament, Denver’s Elise Ricketts scored for a 1-0 win.
Sophia Link, WaMaC East Player of the Year, led Solon’s offense with four shots (three on goal) and keeper Audrey Heineman had 12 saves in 100 minutes in goal as the season ended with a 14-4-1 record.
Solon 6 West Branch 2
The Lady Spartans earned their spot in the finals with a 6-2 win over West Branch Tuesday, June 2, at home.
Sofia Ortega struck first with an assist by Laney Johnson and 25 minutes left in the first half. The Lady Spartans more or less spent the first half in the Bear’s territory with multiple attacks. Link made it 2-0 on a free kick with 19 minutes remaining in the half. The Bears made it 2-1 with five minutes left before the break.
The second half opened with two scares for Solon. First, sophomore Avery Johnson and West Branch’s Kiley Pierce had a head-to-head collision. Johnson was able to walk off the field almost immediately while Pierce was assessed for a few minutes on the field. When play resumed the Bears’ Grace Haman tied the match at 2-2 with just under 39 minutes left in the half.
Freshman Teagan Zearley headed a corner kick by Link into the goal with 31 minutes left in the match to make it 3-2. Katherine Rolwes, also a freshman, angled a shot into the Bear’s goal to make it 4-2, and Laney Johnson scored with 14:50 to go for a 5-2 lead. Link put the cherry on top as she scored for the 6-2 final.
