Elm Girls Soccer Wins Third Conference Title in Four Years

Congratulations to the Elm girls soccer team on winning the program’s third Leyden-Norwood Athletic Conference title in the last four years!

The Cougars won their latest LNAC championship on Thursday, May 14, when they defeated Giles in an overtime thriller at East Leyden High School.

Elm entered the conference tournament last week seeded No. 1 with a 7-0-2 regular-season record and a Gold Division title. After a first-round bye, the Cougars advanced to the championship game by beating No. 4 Union Ridge in the semifinals.

Giles, seeded No. 3 with a 6-2-1 record, advanced to the finals after beating No. 6 River Grove in the first round and upsetting No. 2 Mannheim in the semis, with both games going into overtime.

In the championship match Elm’s leading scorer, 8th grader Hailey Bey, notched her 22nd goal of the season as the Cougars and Lions went into halftime tied 1-1. Elm’s offense pressured Giles throughout the second half, but outstanding play by the Lions’ goalkeeper prevented the Cougars from scoring again in regulation.

After the teams went scoreless in two overtime periods, five players from each squad lined up for penalty kicks. This time Hailey saw double duty as both a kicker and the Cougars’ goalkeeper. 

As keeper, Hailey thwarted the Lions on three of their five kicks. On offense, she scored on Elm’s first attempt. Teammate Karen Martinez, also an 8th grader, scored on her attempt as well. With the penalty kicks even at 2-2, 6th grader Bianca Sandoval took aim for Elm’s final shot — and scored, giving the Cougars the championship and a final record of 9-0-2!

For more photos of the title game, visit:
https://epcusd401.smugmug.com/Elm-Middle-School/2025-26/Spring-Sports-Girls-Soccer-Title-Game-vs-Giles

Head coach Haley Devitt has now led the Cougars to a record of 39-1-3 over the past four seasons. The team’s only loss over that stretch was to Mannheim in the 2024 LNAC title game.  

Take a bow, Elm girls soccer! Together with the boys’ LNAC championship in late October, also on penalty kicks, the girls’ victory means Elm soccer stands atop the conference for 2025-26. Go Cougars!