The Meridian U11 girls team competes earlier in the 2013 season.

The Meridian Futbol Club is only two years old, but is already bringing home competitive youth soccer trophies across multiple levels.

    The MFC Under-11 girls’ team brought home the club’s first girl’s state title in penalty kicks against the No. 3 team in the state, Gulfport. The season-ending tournament gathered the strongest of the select girl’s soccer teams from all over the state to the Jaycee Soccer Complex May 18 and 19. 

    “They worked hard for it,” coach Bob Toldon said. “[Gulfport] had beat us before pretty badly. We knew what we had to do to step up their game. The girls, 100 percent, wanted it and went a took it.”

    But the championship game didn’t go to penalty kicks, the tournament’s standings did.

    MCF beat Gulfport, 2-0, in regulation, but that left them tied in tournament points. The two teams were equal in goals scored and allowed, so back to the field they went to determine a winner. 

    “The girls thought once we won it, it was over. We won it, then we found out we had to go to a shoot out,” Toldon said.

    Gulfport saved MFC’s first two shots, which MFC goalie Anna Kate Henry matched.

    “She was unreal. You could tell she wanted it,” Toldon said. “They went 1 for 1 and AK decided that nothing else was going past her.”

    Four kickers later, still knotted up and trying to avoid a second round of penalty kicks, Henry netted the game winner to bring home the state title.

    “I started teasing her, to make it fun, trying to take the pressure off her and she got mad at me,” Toldon said. “She put it in and I thought it was going through the net.”

    Gulfport entered the tournament ranked third in the state, but MFC wasn’t in the top 10, but walked away victorious.

    In the regulation win, the hero was Olivia Clark off the bench. After a scoreless first half, Clark enter and earned the assist on Macy Hale’s goal around the 40 minute mark. 10 minutes later, Clark scored a goal of her own. She took a one-touch shot off a corner kick to find the back of the net and put MFC up 2-0.

    Adding to their hunger, MFC was entering the tournament fresh off a devastating loss in Daphne, Ala.. Just before the end of regulation of the semifinal game, MFC was charged a penalty resulting in a penalty kick, costing them the game.

    “They decided they weren’t going to do that again. It’s part of why they played so hard.” Toldon said.

    The win was something the girls set taking it all as their ultimate goal at the beginning of the season and coming into the state title game after a remarkable season, full of wins but fresh off a brutal loss to a bad referring call, wanted it more than ever – and got it.

    “We’re definitely going out on a high and with a state championship to boot, these girls have a lot to be proud of,” Toldon said.