Last season, Thomas Jefferson High School Athletic Director Courtney McCurry was standing on the touchline coaching the girls soccer team as their search for a head coach took so long, it went into the season.

Flip the calendar to 2025, and the Thomas Jefferson Raiders are one game away from the 3A state girls championship. The Raiders needed to get past the Decatur Gators, a team that had been reeling in their current form, but is always dangerous. The Raiders and Gators couldn’t be separated through 90 minutes of play, but Alondra Corrales put the Raiders closer than they have ever been as they won on penalties 5-4 on Nov. 6.

Corrales, a senior defender, walked up to the penalty spot, in the wind and rain, to an unfamiliar position. Thomas Jefferson was level on penalities 4-4, but Cor

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