They achieved, and they grew. Cathedral High School girls soccer also turned in big victory after big victory in 2024, all of which made it a significant season for what is perennially one of Indiana’s top programs. And the Irish did it with a difficult schedule in difficult circumstances. “We really had a fantastic year, all things considered,” Marc Behringer said. The Irish in ’24 registered yet another strong season in Behringer’s 29th season as head coach, ranking among the state’s top programs with a strong senior class while transitioning with one of the youngest teams of his tenure. The Irish finished the season No. 10 in the Indiana Soccer Coaches Association state Class 3A rankings. “The girls just kept playing, kept working, and we really were pretty consistent all year long,” he said. The Irish finished the 2024 season 13-5-2, losing to Carmel – 3-1 – in the Section 9 Championship Game after beating nationally-ranked Westfield in the sectional semifinal. “We had to play two good matches just to get to the final, and those were actually 24 hours apart,” Behringer said. “The way everything set up, whoever got out of our side of the bracket to see Carmel was going to be worn out and Carmel was going to be fresh. “That’s basically the way it played out. All credit: Carmel's a great team. But it sure would have been nice to play them rested because I think we could have given them a pretty good run for their money.” The ’24 Irish were led by a memorable senior class that included starting midfielder/captain Abby Beasley, starting midfielder/captain Addy Wong and starting forward/captain Keira Bradford, midfielder Emma Drewry, Teagan Malarney and goaltender Anna Wasiak. “This senior class is going to be a tough one to replace leadership-wise,” Behringer said. “This was a group of young ladies that just really took a hold of the program as much as any group that I've ever had and led the team pretty much as well as they could. I thought they were great.” Behringer called Beasley perhaps the best leader in his time as coach. “She led us in goals, tied for the lead in assists, led us in points, led us in game winning goals,” he said. “Just about anything you can imagine that we needed she would provide.” The Irish also featured five strong freshmen on the varsity along with a strong sophomore class. “This is a team that was every bit capable of getting to semi-state, maybe even the state final,” he said. “It was always going to take a while to kind of get it going. By the end of the season, this team did a really good job of finding their identity, understanding what we did well and trying to play to those strengths.” The ’24 Irish not only won the City Championship, they played ranked opponents in 13 of 20 matches and were ranked in the Top 10 in the state throughout the season. They were 3-3 against programs ranked in the Top 10 nationally at the time of the match. The Irish beat Westfield twice with Westfield ranked No. 7 in the nation, including a Senior Night victory that Behringer called a “huge highlight” of the season. “The fact that we were able to not just beat a good team, but beating a good team twice is not an easy thing to do,” he said. “This team did it. That we were able to do that and make the sectional final is a bigger deal than probably most people understand.” The Irish’s run through the City Tournament included a victory over Heritage Christian in the title game that Behringer called “probably played the best match that we played all year and one of the best matches on any team that I ever coached has played.” “When they came off at halftime, I told them that I really didn't have much to tell them except that we needed to score more goals,” he said. “Otherwise, everything that they were doing was what we wanted to do. I can't ever remember doing that at halftime, not having some things to adjust and change. That was fantastic.” The Irish on the state roster had 10 juniors and seniors, with 13 freshman and sophomores, making a season that ended in difficult fashion a strong base for the future. “I know the girls were disappointed,” Behringer said. “There were a lot of tears at the end of the season because the underclassmen were sad that they weren't going to get to play with this group of seniors anymore. “There's a great foundation here going forward. I don't remember a team that we took to the state tournament that had that many underclassmen. The future looks really bright.”