A soccer season that began with uncertainty when two standout players unexpectedly did not return has become yet another significant winning campaign for the Bishop O’Connell Knights.
The girls high-school team began the week in first place in the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference with a 6-0-1 mark with five shutouts, and stood 10-1-1 overall. O’Connell is expected to be the top seed in the upcoming conference tournament.
The team’s most recent match resulted in a 2-2 tie with WCAC rival and second place Good Counsel.
The Knights rallied from a 2-0 deficit on second-half goals: one by junior Mackenzie Barbato on a 30-yard free kick over the goalie’s head and the second coming from freshman Ashley An with 16 minutes to play.
An had entered the game just seconds earlier, made a quick defensive steal near the Good Counsel goal, then shot and scored in the right corner of the net.
Those were two of multiple shots O’Connell took in the second half. A halftime lineup change, in which the senior Kinsella sisters — Molly and Moira — each played wing positions generated more scoring opportunities.
“We made the changes and put them on the wings because the other setup we were using wasn’t working,” O’Connell coach Alberto Starace said.
Others taking second-half shots for O’Connell were Ryana Dill, Molly Clark, Molly Kinsella, Moira Kinsella with a shot that hit the left goal post and An with one missing just wide with 40 seconds to play.
Moira Kinsella took two quality first-half shots, with Dill and Alex Carter taking others. O’Connell had three first-half corner kicks.
“We had opportunities to score a lot more,” Starace told ARLnow.
On defense, freshman goalie Elina Krumenacker made some key saves, including a diving stop and a kick save at point-blank range.
“Elina has settled in and is getting confident in goal. Defense is our strength,” Starace said. “With the ball, we are a good passing team and we use everybody on the field. We have a lot of different goal-scorers this season.”
O’Connell’s other recent WCAC victories were 8-0 over Elizabeth Seton, 3-0 over Bishop McNamara and 1-0 against St. John’s. There also was an early-season 11-0 win over Holy Cross. The team has a seven-match unbeaten streak.
The Knights are expected to be the top seed in the upcoming WCAC tournament. They finished second in last year’s event.
The coach said the Knights have adjusted well after 2024 leading scorer Audrey McKeen and goalie Mia Morrill, starters last fall, did not return for 2025. Morrill transferred to another school and McKeen, who scored 37 goals a year ago, is sitting out this season preparing to play in college next fall.
Clark leads the team with 15 goals with Molly Kinsella having 14. Dill and Moira Kinsella each have scored multiple times.
Alex Llandes, Hayden McCarthy, Annalise Baldwin, Rachael Zonavetch and injured Sadie Smith are other top senior players for O’Connell. Arden McEldowney, Olivia Axeen, Eliana Moseley, Tara McCarthy, Christina Jimenez and Reese Baskin are other top juniors.
Meeghan Zonavetch, Lily Salva and Brooke Fleming are contributing sophomores as is freshman forward Caroline Benton.
NOTE: Following the WCAC tournament, O’Connell likely will be the top seed in the four-team Northern Virginia Independent Schools State Invitational tourney. The Knights are the defending champions and have won the event three times since its start in 2017.
