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The veteran St. Joseph's bench boss selected junior Maggie Drozda to take a free kick early in overtime in the Class 3 girls soccer state championship match against Fort Zumwalt South on Saturday afternoon.

It was no surprise that the move turned out to be a shrewd one.

Drozda drilled a rocket into the upper-right hand corner from 19 yards out to send the Angels to a 2-1 win in the back-and-forth affair at Soccer Park.

St. Joseph's (17-3-2) captured its eighth overall championship and first since 2014.

The Angels sent their long-time coach and athletics director out in style. McVey is retiring after almost four decades at the private school located in Frontenac.

"How do you describe this feeling?" McVey said. "A storybook finish. It really was."

The St. Joseph's players were thrilled to give their longtime mentor one final moment in the sun.

"She's been the best coach ever," senior forward Caroline Chier said. "I wouldn't want to go out like this with anyone but her."

Added junior Olivia Kaiser, "All of us realize that she's such a great coach, but she's just as great a person too. She makes us all love this sport so much."

McVey made a change in the sudden victory extra session that paid immediate dividends. She chose Drozda to take the kick from just outside the box after junior Claire Pingel took a free kick from a similar spot in the first half that just failed to connect. McVey felt Drozda would be more valuable in the box, so she allowed the accurate Pingel to take the early-match attempt.

In the extra session, McVey was confident Drozda could find the mark.

She did just that pounding home the winner just 4 minutes and 52 seconds into the extra period.

Drozda placed the shot perfectly just under the crossbar.

"That's my spot, I'm usually good from there," Drozda said.

Drozda's teammates were also confident.

"We'll go up to the field and practice and she'll hit that 10 times out of 10," Chier said.

Drozda missed a free kick against Cor Jesu from the exact same spot last season. So she practiced the shot on a regular basis since then, hoping for a chance at redemption.

It came under the brightest of lights.

"This is everything that you dream about since you were little," Drozda said. "Especially in overtime. This is so, so special."

Drozda's blast, which will go down as one of the biggest goals in the long history of the program, ended a well-played affair.

The Angels struck first when Kaiser volleyed a picture-perfect cross from Riley Walshauser into the net in the 23rd minute.

Fort Zumwalt South (18-6-1) drew even on a goal by junior Alaina Ward with just over six minutes remaining in the opening half. Ward broke free on the right wing and smashed the ball through the hands of keeper Ella Moersch, who almost made a spectacular save.

St. Joseph's controlled play in long stretches over the second 40 minutes. Ellie Hannis and Maggie Gawrych created excellent chances.

Fort Zumwalt South sophomores Brielle Gilbert and Jenna Mehrhoff also came close, but Moersch made a pair of nifty saves.

"This was such a good game, it's almost sad that there had to be a loser," McVey said.

McVey likes to golf and has recently taken up paddle ball. She plans on doing a lot of both in her retirement.

The Bulldogs were making their fifth successive appearance in the final four and won three state crowns from 2021-2023 before placing third last season.

This was supposed to a rebuilding year on Mexico Road. They lost 13 seniors and three NCAA Division I players.

But Fort Zumwalt South peaked at the right time and came up just short on Saturday.

"We battled hard all year and this was another example of that," Fort Zumwalt South coach LeAnne Sanders said. "At the end of this day, it hurts to lose. But I'm so proud of the season that we put together."