Friends coach Nick Gill noted that the Quakers' indoor soccer squad was looking for a leader in the Interscholastic Athletic Association of Maryland A Conference after sophomore Liza Harris was unable to play this season because of a commitment to her club team.
"We struggled in the beginning," Gill said. "Without Liza, who's been the leader of the team since she's been here, we didn't have anyone to take her place, to be that field general."
Slowly, though, things began to take shape for the Quakers (7-0-4) as the players became more comfortable and Gill made a key strategic move.
"We were playing great defense, but we weren't getting enough goals," Gill said about the 2-3-1 alignment that he shifted into a 2-2-2. "When we made the switch, we had an extra striker up front, giving us numbers on quick counterattacks."
It helped having senior keeper Aislinn Cook between the pipes and sophomore Mackenzie Gerrity and Sarah Wallack in front of her while sophomore Abby Corkum (team-high 11 goals) and senior Lucy Klein (10 goals, 8 assists) took care of the offense.
"We knew with Mackenzie and Sarah, we could leave them on an island and they would be able to handle it," he said.
He had just as much faith in his strikers.
"Abby is deadly in the box," Gill said. "Any time she gets an open look, it's going in."
Gill also praised freshman Mia Mangione, who led the team in points in the playoffs.
In the championship game against Lutheran, Cook, according to Gill, "had the best game of her career," with a 25-save effort in the 4-3 overtime triumph.
By the end of the season, the Quakers' transformation into a championship club had Gill beaming.
"It was a completely different team from the one that started the season," he said. "It was like night and day."
The evidence of the team's turnaround could be seen in a 5-1 romp over Notre Dame Prep in a semifinal.
Freshman Kailie Saudek assisted Klein to get the Quakers rolling and they kept it up on goals by Mangione, Corkum and Saudek to secure the win and a berth in the final.