The Irish in 2025 beat Noblesville and Carmel in the same season for the first time, also winning the 2025 City Championship and the Carmel Invitational. But more than postseason results, it was a season defined by the program’s ability to overcome adversity, and to push through a season-ending – and team-shaking – injury to senior goaltender Emma Zajac. Zajac, in her first season as the starting goaltender, played at a high level and was key to the Irish being unbeaten through 10 games at 8-0-2. She then in the 11th game of the season broke her jaw in what Behringer called “one of the worst injuries I have ever seen.” “The challenge that came out of it wasn't just losing our starting goalkeeper, but the way the injury came about it was pretty traumatic to even the other players on the field,” Behringer said. The Irish, ranked as high as No. 4 nationally by MaxPreps early in the season, lost the game in which Zajac was injured – 1-0 to Zionsville – and sustained multiple key injuries late in the season. They responded by winning the city tournament and beating North Central in the first round of the sectional tournament after Zajac returned to the team, though not to the field. “She really helped to give us a lift spiritually,” Behringer said. “We got some of our belief back, the unity in the team. The girls did a great job fighting through that. By the time we got the state tournament, we were kind of back to who we are as a team. We had challenges, but we started to feel really good about ourselves.” As Behringer saw it, the season’s final game defined the season – and the character of a resilient team. The Irish trailed Carmel 3-0 at half, at which time Behringer said “you could just see them make a commitment." “We didn't give up any more goals,” Behringer said. “We had three clear chances to score. Two of them, the Carmel goalkeeper made absolutely fantastic saves and another one was just an unlucky bounce off the crossbar. It very easily could've been 3-3.” The Irish replaced their attack and goaltender in 2025, a situation Behringer called “no small task and a big challenge” and one the Irish addressed with multiple players playing key roles. Crucial to the 2025 Irish season was a strong, five-member senior class that included Zajac, forward Lilly Brown, forward Eleanor Hendrickson, midfielder Alex Behringer and defender/midfielder Lauren Robertson. Zajac, Behringer and Robertson served as captains. “The senior class was really key to the success for the season,” Behringer said. “They did a fantastic job of being what we needed them to be this year.” The trio led a team that Behringer called “a model of what we at Cathedral hope teams will be.” “They had the fighting Irish spirit to the end,” Behringer said. “They had that resilience, that pride. The girls had a belief and ultimately the belief that they had themselves was that they were winners. “They were winners because they were the best versions of themselves at the end. And regardless of the outcome of a sporting event, you know that's a win at a much higher level.” Freshman Saige Usher led the Irish with 14 goals and seven assists, with Brown second on the team with 11 goals and three assists. Zajac played solidly in goal, allowing just two goals in 11 games, with Cummings allowing four goals in 10 games. Zajac and Saige Usher were named first-team ISCA All-District 3, junior defender Quinn Usher named second-team All-District But in the end, the ’25 Irish season wasn’t about statistics and awards as much as it was about a team fulfilling its own expectations in the most important way possible. “We always have something we chant at practice and before games,” Behringer said. “The seniors this year chose, ‘Belief.’ At practice and before and after games, one senior would say believe and the rest of the team would say, ‘In God.’ Then they would say believe, and the team would say ‘In each other.’ Then the leader would say believe and everybody would say, ‘In ourselves.’ They lived up to their mantra.”