By Andy Walter

SMYRNA — Mike Osborne has been around the Smyrna High girls’ soccer program for 14 years.

So nobody has to tell him that the Eagles have never done anything like this before.

“We had never won a state playoff game before this — and I was there for the ones that we had lost,” said Osborne, a veteran assistant who is now in his fifth season as Smyrna’s head coach.

“Those were tough games. Trying to get over the hump and then to get to the final, everyone is excited about it.”

The third-seeded Eagles (14-3) will definitely be in unchartered territory on Tuesday when they face top-seeded Padua (15-1) for the DIAA Division I state crown.

The contest is slated for 5 p.m. at Dover High. No. 1 Caravel (14-1) then takes on second-seeded St. Mark’s (17-0) for the Division II title at 7:30 p.m. at Dover.

Not only is Smyrna playing in a soccer state championship game for the first time, but the Eagles join Caesar Rodney and Indian River as the only Henlopen Conference programs to reach a state title game since girls’ soccer became an official sport in 1995.
Of course, Padua has made a name for itself by winning state championships. The Wilmington all-girls’ Catholic school is in the state finals for the 13th time in the last 16 years, with 10 titles to its credit.

“We kind of know that we’re the underdog,” said Osborne. “And we’re embracing that. They’re the one seed, we’re the three seed.”

But Osborne also likes what he’s seen from his players since they knocked off second-seeded Appoquinimink, 2-1, in the semifinals on Tuesday.

Sure, the Eagles are excited to have gotten this far. Osborne, though, said they also understand the challenge that they’re facing.

Osborne has three daughters on the squad.

“At our first training session after we won, I sat the girls down,” he said. “I just wanted to draw them out mentally. They were just all locked in. ... We feel like we have a good game plan and we’re very excited.”

Smyrna’s only losses this season have been 1-0 to Middletown, 2-0 to Caravel and 2-1 in overtime to CR. The Eagles avenged that loss to the Riders with a 4-0 victory in the state quarterfinals.

It’s been an impressive run for a team that has just three seniors in goalie Sofia Lerro, Hannah Osborne and Emily Thompson. Lerro and Osborne were first-team All-Henlopen North selections.

Thirteen of Smyrna’s 21 players are either freshmen or sophomores. With nobody playing last spring, that means over half the Eagles’ roster is made up of first-year varsity players.

Of course, one of those players is Desiree Zapata, who broke the school record with 33 goals this spring. Zapata was also a first-team All-North pick.

Smyrna last played Padua in 2019, losing 4-1.

“I think the girls have a really good mentality going into it,” Osborne said about the finals. “We know what we’re up against. I think they (the Pandas) have quality all over the field. They’re fundamentally sound and then they have some real threats to score.

“They have a couple seniors that I know have been a part of it before. I think they have a little bit of an edge there. But both teams have a really big ‘freshman’ class because the freshmen and the sophomores didn’t get a season last year. There’s a lot of first-year players so that does even things out a little bit.”

Because the Eagles are so young, there’s the feeling that this might not be the last time they make a run in the state tournament.

Of course the only future they’re focused on right now is Tuesday evening.

“We’ve got a talented bunch for the next couple years for sure,” said Osborne. “This group, and even some of our younger players, has a mentality and expectation to compete. Girl for girl, these girls are very competitive. That mentality is really helpful.”