By DAVE O’SULLIVAN Publisher HOLMDEL — Players on the Holy Spirit girls soccer team were hoping they would be shedding tears of joy when the Non-Public B South championship game ended at Holmdel High School on Thursday night. Instead, they watched Moorestown Friends’ celebration in disbelief after the Foxes scored in the 98th minute to win the title. With less than 90 seconds left before a winner-takes-all penalty-kick shootout, Kieran Lees gained control at midfield and shoved a pass through on the right to Alexis Kasper. Holy Spirit goalie Ayanna Jones made a brilliant save on Kasper’s shot, but Chloe Jones was there to knock home the rebound and give Moorestown Friends a dramatic 3-2 win over the Spartans. It was a bitter end to an outstanding season for the Spartans, one that saw them go 15-6, including 10-3 in the Cape-Atlantic League’s National Conference. “I’m very, very proud of my girls. They definitely deserved this game. We definitely dominated for the majority, but stuff like that happens,” said Holy Spirit coach Alicia Downey. “But you know what? We’re going to be back here next year. We’re going to make sure this doesn’t happen again.” “I’m really proud of them. I’m proud of them for this whole season, from beginning to end. I wanted this so bad,” said Danielle Conaghy, Holy Spirit’s lone senior and a defensive player who played an outstanding game against the Foxes. Holy Spirit's Kira McCully gets some separation from Moorestown Friends midfielder Chloe Chen during the sectional final. Holy Spirit’s Kira McCully gets some separation from Moorestown Friends midfielder Chloe Chen during the sectional final. Both Ayanna Jones and Gregory were tested throughout the night, as the two keepers combined to make 20 saves. Holy Spirit’s defense was also strong, led by Conaghy, who, as it turned out, played in the final game of her career. “Danielle has been very important. The girls look up to her and she leads by example,” Downey said. “She works hard every single time she’s out there, and she did nothing less than her best tonight.” Downey was resolute in the loss that the Spartans would be back, and with a roster full of sophomores and juniors, a return trip to the sectional final in 2016 wouldn’t be a surprise. “I’m so proud of this team. They gave 110 percent the entire time, leading up to this game and including this game,” Downey said. “We’ll be back next year, and this will not happen. We will be coming for that championship.” Despite the loss, Conaghy said this has been a season to remember for her. “(My teammates) are all my best friends, not even just in soccer, outside of school, too,” she said. “I text all of them, I Snapchat all of them every day now. They’ve become my best friends, and we weren’t like that before. We all love each other.” Contact Dave O’Sullivan: sully@acglorydays.com; on Twitter @GDsullysays [adsense]