TAPPS Division II all-state tournament members include (from left) Katy St. John XXIII College Prep’s Aly Peters (5), Elizabeth Roncal (17), Ana Caldentey (4) and Andrea Morales-Rodriguez (9); and Grace Community’s Addison Eli (9), Elle Durham (11), Cesa Sabillon (3) and Claire Stoermer (1).

ROUND ROCK — The Tyler Grace Community Lady Cougars (20-5-1) captured their third TAPPS Girls Winter Soccer state title, coming away with a 5-3 advantage in penalty kicks, after a scoreless regulation and a pair of overtimes, over Katy St. John XXIII College Prep (27-1-1), in the Division II championship match at the Round Rock Multipurpose Complex.

Senior Randi Huddleston converted the first PK for a 1-0 Grace Community advantage, and following St. John XXIII also making its initial kick, senior Ally Wallace connected for Grace. Then came the pivotal moment of the PK session, as goalkeeper Claire Stoermer, an Oklahoma Baptist signee, stopped a St. John XXIII PK.

“That stop was obviously huge for us,” said Grace Community head coach Chris Hemphill.

“Claire is such a exceptional goalie,” Hemphill said. “She remains calm. She knows how the game is played.”

Stoermer gave credit to her teammates, “I trust my teammates and they trust me. We have each other’s backs.”

Sophomores Addison Eli and Elle Durham both converted their PKs for Grace, trading conversions with a pair of St. John XXIII attempts that left Grace with a 4-3 upperhand.

Sophomore midfielder Cesa Sabillon then knocked in the championship PK for Grace, and her teammates sprinted onto the field to celebrate.

Sabillon had scored a pair of goals, including the game-winner, in Tuesday’s 3-2 thrilling double overtime semifinal victory over Austin Regents.

“I don’t think it has hit us yet,” said Sabillon, on winning the state title. “This is so unreal. All the hard work this season paid off.

Grace Community eliminated Austin St. Michael’s 3-2 in the area round, then ousted Fort Worth Christian, 4-0, in the regional to advance to the state tournament.

Coach Hemphill said this was a total team effort in winning the championship.

“I can’t say enough about these girls,” said Hemphill. “We rotated a lot of players in and out, after the overtime game yesterday. We had to re-set, re-charge. We wanted to keep fresh legs in the game.”

Making its fourth overall state tourney appearance, Grace Community won titles in 2016 and 2018 and reached the Final Four in 2020.

This year, when Grace Community defeated Austin Regents in the semifinal, it beat a team that eliminated five-time defending state champion Grapevine Faith Christian, winning 1-0, in regionals.

Katy St. John XXIII, making both of its state tourney appearances the last two years, lost 2-1 a year ago to Grapevine Faith Christian in the title contest. It had not lost a match this season, and had just one tie on its record.

Lady Cougar team members include: seniors — No. 1 Claire Stoermer, No. 2 Catelyn Colvin, No. 6 Randi Huddleston, No. 12 Kennedy Tilley, No. 14 Ally Wallace, No. 17 McKenzie Miller, and No. 25 Sadie Vidrine; juniors No. 13 — Bela Sabillon, No. 22 Paige Britt, and No. 23 Keely Bozeman; sophomores — No. 3 Cesa Sabillon, No. 4 Maggie Gillen, No. 9 Addison Eli, No. 10 Kate Herod, No. 11 Elle Durham, No. 15 Grace Carter, No. 19 Emerson Evans, No. 21 Victoria Perez, and No. 24 Julia Feliciano; and freshmen — No. 5 Addie Mathews and No. 8 Harper Miller.

Chris Hemphill is the coach of the Lady Cougars with Emily Griffin and Josue Sabillon his assistants. Parker Estes is the manager.