Players met her with good eye contact and posture before closing the huddle with a loud cheer — signs McDaniel took as them being focused and excited to make the most of their chance. They were, and they beat St. Stephen’s/St. Agnes, 11-5, to clinch the program’s first ISL AA crown.

“I was hired to come in and take the program to the next level with the support of the administration,” the coach said afterward at Madeira High in McLean. “… I’m happy to be [champions], and I don’t want to leave.”

The Gators’ win avenged a pair of tight losses to the Saints — one in last year’s championship game and the other in this year’s regular season.

The teams entered Saturday evenly matched — they were ISL co-regular season champions, and the past two matchups were decided by a total of two goals. But the Gators (18-5) quickly separated themselves by scoring the first three goals of the game.

The first two came from Sophia Stoltz, who led all scorers with four tallies. The sophomore was held scoreless during the team’s last matchup with St. Stephen’s/St. Agnes (16-7) in late April. In the team’s film session the following day, McDaniel and Stoltz went through each of her moves to see how they could improve with an eye to a potential rematch.

“We knew they were such a great competition and such a good team that we had to come out with a lot of fire and a lot of spirit,” Stoltz said.

McDaniel reshaped her squad’s schedule to prepare it for tough ISL games, putting together an early slate that featured national powers St. Paul’s (Md.) and American Heritage (Fla.). Though the Gators lost both games, they were tested against elite competition.

When the Saints cut their deficit to four with more than 10 minutes left Saturday, Stone Ridge responded, holding the ball until the 3:54 mark, when Stoltz scored again.

Amid the postgame celebration, the Gators found their coach, sneaked behind her and emptied their water bottles on her. McDaniel turned around in exhilaration before shouting into the cloudy sky to commemorate her team’s accomplishment.

Episcopal wins A division

Episcopal beat Flint Hill, 14-3, in the ISL A division tournament final Saturday at Madeira for its second straight title.

The Maroon also won the regular season, an achievement that will move it up to the AA division next year.

“We’re excited to play with some top teams in the area,” Coach Ashley Taylor said. “That’s an awesome next step for us.”