Playoffs storm on for local teams
February 27, 2019
Yo parents – it’s not always the coach’s fault!
February 27, 2019
All season long, the Vandebilt Catholic girls’ soccer team has been an offensive juggernaut.
But last week, when the team needed goals most, they were unfortunately few and far between.
Vandebilt lost 3-0 to Teurlings Catholic last Wednesday in the Division III State Championship Match — the second-straight season the Lady Terriers finish with a runner-up finish.
Coach Phil Amedee said the loss is disappointing because the storied, prideful program has one goal each season — to win it all.
And that goal was not achieved this time around — despite a dominant regular season.
Make no mistake: Vandebilt had tons of chances to change the outcome of last Wednesday’s match.
The Lady Terriers played with their hair on fire throughout the opening whistle, recording early shots on goal and controlling possession throughout.
But for every opportunity the Lady Terriers had at creating fireworks, Teurlings had an equal amount of water to pour on top of it — a fitting description given the cold rain that fell throughout the match.
Vandebilt shot more than a dozen times in the first half, but Teurlings goalie Lauryn Starwood had an answer for each with magnificent hands and reaction time to get in front of the ball.
Starwood was named Most Outstanding Player of the match in victory with a dozen saves.
Her coach, David Lapeyrouse, said it was a Herculean effort.
“She was terrific today,” Lapeyrouse said. “Everything we needed, she delivered for us. Vandebilt is a great team. We take our hats off to them for a great season. Tonight, we took advantage of our opportunities and were able to find a way to get it done.”
While Vandebilt had multiple chances go for naught early, Teurlings had a lone first-half opportunity that amounted to success on the scoreboard — a long-distance strike from Julia Collette to put her team ahead 1-0 early in the match — a score which held until halftime because of countless Vandebilt misses, including several misses off the crossbar.
In the second half, Teurlings struck again to go up 2-0 on a header from Emily Sonnier — set up by a perfectly-placed ball from Collette.
That sent the Lady Terriers into a frenzy for late-offense — a frenzy, which set up counter opportunities and eventually a third goal — a strike from Camryn Chretien, which put the game away for good.
Vandebilt had chances throughout the second half, as they did in the first, but none of their shots accounted for goals, which sent the game to its final margin — a disappointing end for a Lady Terriers team that’s now finished as the runner-up in Division III in back-to-back years after winning the title in back-to-back years in the two seasons before that.
Amedee said his team had a mix of experience and youth, adding that he believes the future is bright, despite the sting of how the season ended. •
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