A couple of years ago, former Holy Spirit soccer goalie Audrey Wilson convinced Ayanna Jones, a basketball player, to come out for soccer and be her replacement in front of the net when Wilson graduated.
Jones figured she would do it as a way to stay active and have a little fun during the fall while she got ready for basketball season. She never thought she would have so much fun playing soccer, make so many friends, and be pretty darn good at the position, too.
Jones gets the nod as our Bunting Family Pharmacy Athlete of the Week for her tremendous performances in the playoffs, leading the Spartans to their first-ever South Jersey championship and a spot in the Non-Public B state championship game.
Holy Spirit lost last season to Moorestown Friends in the sectional championship game, as Jones let up a goal in overtime as a rookie keeper. This year, as a senior, she vowed to help get her team back to the title game — and win it this time.
That’s exactly what the Spartans did, as they got the No. 5 seed and scored an emphatic 6-0 win over Wildwood Catholic in the opening round of sectionals. Holy Spirit then went on the road to give Moorestown Friends a little payback, and again Jones recorded a shutout as the Spartans prevailed, 2-0. A third straight shutout, this time over Gill St. Bernard’s, put Spirit back into the title game.
The championship featured a rematch against OLMA, a team the Spartans had split with during the Cape-Atlantic League season. Jones was on her game again, allowing just one goal as Christine Conaghy scored a hat trick and Spirit won the title with a convincing 4-1 win.
In the state championship game, against Morris Catholic, Jones held a team that had won 14 state titles in its history scoreless throughout regulation, making seven saves to send the game into overtime. In the extra period, Abby Shirkey ripped a shot from about 12 yards out that Jones dove for and got a hand on, but the ball trickled over the goal line to give the Crusaders a 1-0 victory, and the state championship.
Jones said she was heartbroken by the loss, but thankful for the opportunity to help her teammates experience something they never had before — playing for a state championship.
“There’s a lot of pressure when you are a goalie. The goal was a great goal. I got a hand on it, so I’m proud of that. I looked back and it was in, and that was a heartbreaker. But they were a good team, and my coaches helped me (play well today),” Jones said after Sunday’s loss. “This is amazing (to get here). My girls are a great group of girls and we’re like sisters. We literally hang out every day, and this journey with them was absolutely amazing.”
“I told her, ‘don’t let that goal define your season.’ She had an amazing season,” said Holy Spirit coach Alicia Downey. “This girl has only played soccer for two years. She’s a basketball player who was made into a goalie without any real training, and that’s a credit to her natural ability and how athletic she is. I told her not to let that goal define her season, because she had an outstanding season.”
Jones said she never thought she would be in a position to help the Holy Spirit soccer program so much.
“I never thought this would happen. I just thought I was going to do this for fun, but it became an everyday thing,” she said. “I improved a lot (this year) and my team is a part of that. They helped me throughout this whole journey. When we beat Moorestown Friends, I think that was, like, we can do this. That pushed us harder.”

— Dave O’Sullivan, Publisher