Chasing a ring: Vandy girls’ soccer off to successful start; hopes 2015 brings state title

Houma native remembered for his zest, love for life
January 2, 2015
’15 will make or break Les Miles
January 6, 2015
Houma native remembered for his zest, love for life
January 2, 2015
’15 will make or break Les Miles
January 6, 2015

The Vandebilt girls’ soccer team was a freshman-laden bunch last year. The inexperience showed its ugly head in the worst possible moment – a 1-0 Division II State Semifinals loss to Ben Franklin.

With more than 10 months to let that defeat simmer, the now-older, faster, stronger and more experienced Lady Terriers are ready to make a run.

As-always, the Vandebilt girls are among the top sides in Louisiana for Division II soccer. Through two months of the season, the Lady Terriers are 14-4-4. The driving force for the early start is renewed experience, according to coach Philip Amedee, who said his team is looking to peak in the coming weeks with the playoffs near.


“We have so many players from last year’s team,” Amedee said. “It felt like we were all freshmen out there last year, so now, we have a lot of sophomores. Grade-wise, we’re still young, but this year, we have a lot more experience, and I think that’s something that’s really going to power us as we get ready for the stretch run of the season.”

In most years, Vandebilt soccer is an offensive locomotive – the juggernaut program that has produced elite, college-bound goal scorers like Meghan Philp, Makelle Pena and Kimberly Grasso in recent seasons.

But this year’s group is quite a bit more defensive-minded, and that’s something that pleases the Lady Terriers’ coach.


Amedee said this year’s Vandebilt defense is one of the best he’s had in several seasons with the team. The Lady Terriers have recorded 13 shutouts in 22 matches, while never allowing more than two goals in any match this season.

Vandebilt has played two district matches this year – against Ellender and archrival E.D. White. They didn’t allow a goal in either, and both were decisive wins.

“Our defense has been extremely solid – they are the part of this team that has been a constant from day one,” Amedee said. “We’ve been really stingy, and I think if we can continue to improve on that, we’ll continue to be looking really good back there.”


The Vandebilt coach said the team’s defensive successes start in the net where Emma Guidry and Kayla Pitre have shared time at keeper.

The duo have been a large part of the team’s shutout binge. They’ve also benefitted from a swarming defense around them that haven’t allowed too many shots to reach the goal.

“Our play at keeper this year has been excellent,” Amedee said. “Both young ladies have really done a nice job for us. We have confidence in both kids, and we definitely like the way that the defense has played in front of the keeper to keep them out of bad situations.”


Believe it or not, it’s actually the Vandebilt offense that Amedee wants to be more consistent. The Lady Terriers’ longtime coach said that his team’s pressure and possession have been solid throughout the year – both are positives for the offense.

But he added that an inability to consistently capitalize on scoring threats is what has done the team in. Amedee said making close shots is a must if the Lady Terriers’ offense wants to take that next leap from a good offense to a title-contending one.

Among the team’s top strikers are talented marksmen like Grace Champagne and Molly Thompson, among many others.


“We need to be better – there’s no question,” Amedee said. “We need to finish our opportunities. We do a very good job of creating, but we need to finish better. In Division II, there’s an awful lot of parity, as you know. So when we get into those closer, tougher games, it’ll be our ability to learn to finish that’ll hopefully push us through.

“The talent is there. We have a lot of contributors. Just about everyone has scored a goal. We have the talent, and we have the depth – no question. We just need to take more advantage of the chances we get in the bigger games and put them through.”

A desperate hunger to break the ice and win the state championship helps, as well.


For more than the past half-decade, the Lady Terriers have competed favorably in the Division II Playoffs, but have fallen either one or two wins away from the State Championship.

Last season, Vandebilt was young and it was a decisive underdog – earning the No. 4 seed in the playoff bracket.

They nearly pulled the upset in the semifinals, falling 1-0 in a match that was back and forth from start to finish.


But this year, the team has more experience and will be among the favorites to win the ring that has eluded the program for a while now.

Amedee didn’t shy away from the conversation of the playoffs, touting that it’s the goal of the Vandebilt program to play in as many big-time games as possible.

He added that if his team proves to be mentally tougher than they were last year, they have a real shot to win their last game of the season.


What a difference 10 and a half months can make for a once-young soccer team that is now loaded with experience.

“We’ve got to be more mentally prepared. That’s the most important thing when you get to the playoffs,” Amedee said. “By the time you get to the playoffs, everybody is equally talented. There’s a lot of talent in this state, and Division II has a lot of really good teams. It really comes down to who is mentally tougher, and who can overcome that night when the ball’s not bouncing your way and just will yourself to a win.

“I think we can do it. I think we’re stronger. I think we have what it takes. And it helps that these ladies have now been here before.”


Vandebilt Catholic striker Grace Champagne pushes the ball up the pitch during a match with Thibodaux this season at the Central Lafourche High School Tournament. The Lady Terriers are one of the top teams in Houma-Thibodaux prep soccer, possessing a 14-4-4 record at press-time. With an experienced group of sophomores leading the way, Vandebilt is considered one of the favorites to win the Division II State Championship.

 

JOSE DELGADO | THE TIMES