Just over two weeks ago, Phoenix Xavier Prep senior Lainey Swanson broke her radius before the playoffs started. She had to miss three games and her wrist was put into a cast.

Fast forward two weeks, and it was Swanson — still sporting a bulky cast on her arm — who was the driving force as No. 3-seeded Xavier Prep pulled out a dramatic 2-1 win in overtime against No. 1 Queen Creek Casteel on a windy afternoon at Mesa High in the Arizona Interscholastic Association Open Division state title game.

It is the fifth consecutive state championship for Xavier, an AIA record for large school classifications, taking down the record held by Tucson Catalina Foothills and Scottsdale Chaparral. It is also the 15th title in school history for the Gators, which builds on their state record.

For coach Barb Chura, it is the 10th title since she took over the program in 2003.

“It means I’ve been here a long time. That’s the first answer I’ll give you,” Chura said. “The second one ... it’s a testament to the kids. The kids we have that come each year, it doesn’t get old. We lose them, but we gain them and then we develop them. We have a lot of success, but we work really hard at it.

“It means a lot in that regard because I know how much it means to them.”

Swanson got the scoring started for Xavier in the ninth minute after a deflected shot got a favorable bounce as the ball barely bounced past Casteel junior goalkeeper Kendall Pechacek. But it was Swanson's second goal that was the decider.

From about 30 yards outside of the box, Swanson fired off a shot that hit the top corner of the net as time expired in the first overtime period.

“She didn’t play her sophomore or junior year. She played freshman year, was injured somewhat,” Chura said. “But she really wanted to come back for this. To do what she did in this game, I said to her when we were shaking hands with Casteel, ‘Is this what you came back for?’ She was all smiles.”

Swanson was able to come back for the semifinals, a 2-1 win over Anthem Boulder Creek. But it’s been only about a week since Swanson returned to the field.

Now, she’s part of Xavier’s storied history.

“It’s all the players, Coach Chura, everything we do, our training, the school rounds us so well,” Swanson said after the game. “We just work so hard. I think it means the world to us.”

Holding it down in the midfield was senior Izzy Lee, who helped stifle the Colts' offense all afternoon long.

She wanted to make this game count.

“We knew the attitude had to be 'give it our all,'” Lee said. “For me, it’s my last time ever playing as a high school student and I didn’t want to regret anything. I knew that I needed to give more than 100%.”

For Casteel, it’s a bitter end to what has been a remarkable season. The Colts, who started as a 3A school under coach Jason Hammonds, have quickly morphed into one of Arizona’s premier programs and earned the top seed in the first year of the Open. Casteel went 23-2 this season.

Hammonds, in particular, was displeased with how the game was officiated.

The Colts had a goal on a corner disallowed with 11 minutes left in the first half after the officials ruled that the ball went out of bounds while in the air. With a headwind producing gusts up to 34 miles per hour on that side of the field, Hammonds said he wasn’t sure how that call came to be.

“It was a great effort. It’s just a shame it was taken away by the referees,” Hammonds said. “For them to say a ball went out of bounds would have to defy physics. … And then the foul count was absurd. It was more than double fouls on us versus fouls on them. It was clear in the beginning that the referees had in their minds who they wanted to win.

“These girls are amazing. They played great. Like I said, it’s a shame that adults ruin the game for them.”

(This story was updated to add a gallery and video.)

Logan Stanley is a sports reporter with The Arizona Republic who primarily focuses on high school, ASU and Olympic sports. To suggest ideas for human-interest stories and other news, reach out to Stanley at [email protected] or 707-293-7650. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter: @LSscribe .