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INDIANAPOLIS – Faith Christian senior Grace Robinson grabbed a hold of the Class 1A girls’ soccer state championship trophy late Saturday night and never let go.

Nothing could pry her grasp from the school’s first-ever state title keepsake after the No. 12 Faith Christian Eagles defeated the No. 2 Providence Pioneers, 2-1, at Michael Carroll Track & Soccer Stadium on the campus of IU Indianapolis.

“It’s surreal, honestly. This is our senior year and to end on top like that,” said Robinson, the Eagles’ lone team captain. “God be the glory. Genuinely, we couldn’t have done it without everything that God has given us.”

What the Eagles (17-2-2) were provided during the 31st annual IHSAA soccer state finals was an opportunity, and they turned it into a feat never realized by any sports team in Faith Christian’s 14-year Indiana High School Athletic Association membership history.

A five-time sectional champion and two-time regional winner, Faith Christian entered Saturday as a first-time state finalist and pulled off a historic upset to halt Providence’s (19-4) attempt at a second state crown in its third state appearance since 2011.

“These girls never wavered. They never got frantic. They never stop trusting in each other,” Faith Christian head coach David Ungaro said.

“They’ve been so focused this year, and this has been just incredible. What they do on the field and how they play for each other is just incredible.”

Faith Christian’s remarkable rise to its first state crown was capped by two second-half goals from Robinson in the 44th minute to put the Eagles up 1-0 and the go-ahead in the 72nd minute by Robinson’s cousin, senior Danielle Welborn.

The Eagles ran through the gauntlet this postseason to reach the state finals.

Faith Christian opened its playoff push with a 5-1 win over No. 13 Lafayette Central Catholic during the sectional semifinals.

A 2-0 win over No. 11 Sheridan in the Lafayette Central Catholic Sectional finals set up a match with No. 17 Eastbrook in the Taylor Regional semifinal, which the Eagles won 4-0.

Faith Christian defeated its fourth ranked opponent at the South Bend Saint Joseph Semi-State in No. 7 Westview, 1-0, before ending their title run against their fifth ranked foe.

“It took a lot genuinely. Our team isn’t huge. There’s 17 of us out there, so when you ask 17 players to play all the games that we’ve played, and then as we fight our own injuries and our own mental obstacles as well, it’s hard to overcome those, but we do. We push through,” Robinson said. “Genuinely having that family and that unity that comes from our team, and that unity is in Christ. To be one family through Him is what gets us through.”

Defense played a key role on the field, as the Eagles held Providence to one shot in the first half and no shots on goal until the second half.

The Pioneers finished with six shots on goal and 10 shots overall with one goal by senior Molly Richards in the 59th minute to tie the game 1-1.

Entering the state finals, Providence had outscored their postseason opponents 51-1, not including their four penalty kicks to beat top-ranked Heritage Christian, 1-1 (4-3), during the Evansville North Semi-State finals.

Providence also eliminated No. 8 Forest Park with a 5-0 shutout during their regional championship meeting at home and had 11 shutouts this year with five unfolding during their postseason run.

Faith Christian had outscored their postseason opponents 15-2 with 104 goals scored and 11 surrendered while holding 12 opponents scoreless this season, including three in the state tournament.

The Eagles posted 14 shots overall and seven on goal with seven shots taken in the first half and four on goal.

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“You have to give it to Faith Christian. They did a great job of slowing us down and preventing a lot of our attacking opportunities,” Providence head coach Trevor Black said. “I said in the beginning, I wanted to shoot early and often. I had a goal for how many shots I wanted to put on for the game, and we didn’t reach that goal. That’s perfectly fine, but yes, they limited our opportunities, so the few that we got, we did take advantage of one which was great, but a couple of others don’t sneak by and that’s how it goes sometimes.”

Robinson’s goal early in the second half marked her team-leading 23rd of the year after she played a perfectly placed transitional pass from her younger cousin, freshman Emily Welborn.

“Grace has been our leader and has been in our program since the sixth grade. The whole middle school time she was out here with the high school girls working hard,” Ungaro said. “She never stopped working hard. She’s our one captain. She’s our one leader, and she was our one voice. She deserves this so much.”

Richards’ equalizing goal 15 minutes later gave the Colgate University commit her 99th in her career.

The Pioneers were making their first state championship match appearance since 2012 and third overall.

Providence won their first state title with a 3-1 penalty-kick finish in 2011 and nearly repeated in 2012 but lost 2-0 in regulation to Mishawaka Marian in their state championship rematch.

Faith Christian’s Danielle Welborn made sure overtime and PKs wouldn’t determine the final outcome.

Initially passing the ball off to junior Hannah Bolton to start the attack, Welborn received the ball again in stride and broke down four Providence defenders before lining a left-footed shot into the net with less than nine minutes remaining.

“I saw this clear run opening, so I was calling for the ball, but I wasn’t super confident in how I could handle the ball with that amount of people in the middle. She trusted me and had total confidence in me,” Welborn said. “Without that I wouldn’t have been able to make it. I don’t know. It just happened naturally.”

Welborn’s 21st goal of the season slipped past senior goalkeeper Brookelynn Schneider, who finished with five saves.

It also gave Faith Christian senior keeper Evie Martin (four saves) enough breathing room, as the Pioneers increased their attack until the final seconds expired.

“It’s incredible. The 2015 group that went to semi-state. They were the ones giving us those notes and words of encouragement and just the entire student body and the entire staff. Everybody has been so focused on what we were doing and what we were trying to accomplish,” Ungaro said. “Our theme this year has been, ‘Success is a Journey.’ Last year, when we lost to Sheridan at regional, we’ve been focused on getting back to that. We’ve had three straight heartbreaks at regional, to finally get over that hump and then to keep going. We kept going as a team.”

Class 1A State Championship Records

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Providence's Molly Richards earns Wynns Mental Attitude Award

Following the match, Molly Richards of Providence High School was named the recipient of the Theresia Wynns Mental Attitude Award.

Molly is currently ranked second in her class, is an AP Scholar with distinction, and a two-year member of the Nation Honor Society.

She’s been named coaches association Academic All-State two years in a row as well as earning All-District three years in a row. In addition to soccer, she’ll be playing her fourth year of varsity basketball for the Pioneers this winter. She also participated in track as a sophomore.

The daughter of Jack and Anne Richards of Sellersburg, Indiana, Molly intends to study Pre-Medicine at Colgate University while continuing her soccer career.

The award is annually presented to a senior, who is nominated by her principal and coach, and has demonstrated excellence in mental attitude, scholarship, leadership, and athletic ability during her four years of high school. The award is named in honor of Theresia Wynns, who served as an IHSAA assistant commissioner from 1997-2012 and administered the sports of girls and boys soccer as well as the licensing of over 8,000 officials in the state of Indiana.

Indiana Farm Bureau Insurance, a proud corporate partner of the IHSAA, presented a $1,000 scholarship to the general scholarship fund at Our Lady of Providence High School in the name of Molly Richards.