"Family" bond carries Muncie Burris girls soccer to historic sectional title season

FAIRLAND, Ind. — When Muncie Burris girls soccer last year won the program's first sectional title, it meant everything.

The Owls didn't expect their regional, nor did they care. Their season goals of a winning record (10-8) and a championship were acomplished.

Many of those same girls returned this fall, hoping to repeat the feat. None them, however, expected to set so many records.

This Burris group has set new best marks for wins (15-1), shutouts (12) and goals by a player (Sophia Johnson, 38) in a single season. 2022 has been by far the greatest campaign in the program's history, and Saturday's 3-1 sectional championship victory over Wapahani at Triton Central High School was the latest accomplishment in a memorable year.

"After all these years of the Burris girls soccer team trying hard in sectionals, and a lot of times making it to the finals but not winning, it's so great to finally win it two years in a row," Johnson said. "I've never been on a team that has felt this much like a family before. We all genuinely love and trust each other and we just mesh super well on and off the field."

Related:Burris boys soccer regroups to win 1st sectional title since 2016

It's evident the Owls are a cohesive unit when watching them play. Constant communication can be heard, and the girls always seem to know where each other are on the field.

Johnson said trust has been the biggest key to their success, especially defensively. Burris has outscored its opponents 95-10 on the year, rarely allowing opponents to get shots on goal, let alone put one in the net.

Freshman goalkeeper Neela Cormier-Marri has also been a star addition and notched 66 saves on the year.

Head coach Isidro Alvarado is consistently impressed by her and has seen his players develop the ability to almost always know what to do. They're never in the wrong spots, and they have confidence in one another to do their job correctly.

Johnson admitted that belief wasn't there in previous seasons and was a reason why the team was outscored 63-60 in 2021. Now, defense is Burris' backbone.

"We wouldn't be the team we are without them," junior forward Sarah Edmonds said. "(The defense and the goalkeeper) work great together ... It's really a full team, which is awesome."

Delta cross-country sectional::Cook, Southerland dominate; Wapahani, Monroe Central win team titles

The team's offense is primarily led by Johnson and Edmonds, who've tallied 83 and 64 points, respectively. Johnson's 38 goals rank 22nd in the nation and Edmonds' 28 assists rank seventh, according to MaxPreps.

They feel their skillsets complement each other well, with Johnson being the energizer and Edmonds being the tactician. Very few opponents in Class A can stop them.

The duo would've never existed, though, had Edmonds not switched from the Raiders to the Owls. Saturday was an unique experience for her, but she's glad to have been embraced by her new team.

"This was kind of a full circle moment for me today. A lot of emotions," Edmonds said. "Obviously, I was playing against some of my old teammates and friends, so it was hard being on the other side, but I enjoyed being on the other side with these teammates."

Johnson's glad Edmonds changed schools, too. Johnson's scored 16 more goals this season than last, breaking the school record for single-game goals with five on Aug. 27 and 32 goals in a season with two against Wapahani in the final regular season game.

While she was happy to reach a milestone she sought since her freshman year, Johnson recognizes how impactful Edmonds and others were to making it happen.

"Without my team I couldn't have scored those goals. I was just the one who put it in the back of the net," Johnson said. "Very few are my goals were ones where I actually dribbled it down the field. It was almost all the ball was passed to me from a bunch of other teammates ... It's really nice knowing that I broke the record, but it was really a team record, not just me."

She is, however, gifted with tremendous speed. It makes her teammates' job much easier knowing they can often just pass a ball far ahead and let her outrun defenders.

Alvarado enjoys watching the sequence every time and can't help but draw comparisons.

"It reminds me of my old days. When you have the spark and the desire and the passion to play some soccer, that keeps me young," Alvarado said. "It keeps me going to coach."

The only match Burris lost this season was 3-0 to No. 1 Park Tudor on Sept. 13, and the Owls will face them again in their regional.

When Burris lost its 2021 regional game against Heritage Christian 8-0, the team didn't care too much. Johnson and Alvarado both said the girls already made history and didn't expect to do more.

But after so many strong performances to this point, the Owls want more. They know it'll be a tall task, yet they're embracing the challenge rather than conceding defeat. They don't want the ride to end.

"Since we have this really, really good record, we have a little more confidence going into the regional game, and we think that we might actually have a chance," Johnson said. "Our work ethic has progressively gotten better and better and we're just so determined to go as far as we can and break even more records if possible."

Gus Martin is a sports reporter at The Star Press. Follow him on Twitter @GusMartin_SP, and contact him at gmartin@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Muncie Star Press: IHSAA girls soccer: "Family" bond carries Burris to sectional title