Landry seen as underdog to Boustany
February 7, 2012Joseph Clovis Autin
February 9, 2012
The Vandebilt Catholic boys’ soccer team proved in the opening half of Saturday’s first round Division II playoff match against Belaire that they can both start and finish.
But it was everything in the middle that has coach Matt Kelso happy and the Terriers living to play another day.
The Terriers scored both early and late in the first half to control the scoreboard.
With the lead in hand, Vandebilt turned a two-goal match into a rout, securing a 5-0 victory, earning the 9-seeded Terriers a berth into the field of 16.
“We’ve been stressing for the past two weeks, ‘Intensity, intensity,’ and ‘Hustle, hustle,’” Vandebilt Catholic coach Matt Kelso said. “And we came out there, especially in the second half and we did it. It was a good win for us. We’re excited to be moving on.”
Vandebilt didn’t need much time to take control of Saturday afternoon’s match played under cloudy skies and sometimes rainy conditions.
The Terriers scored a goal 40 seconds into the afternoon on a boot from James Schwab that nestled into the back of the net to give Vandebilt a 1-0 lead.
The defending Division II state runners-up took a 2-0 lead into halftime when Andrew Teuton took a breakaway and placed a well-struck shot into the net with two minutes to play in the half.
But even with the two-goal barrage, Kelso said he didn’t like the way his team played early.
Vandebilt could have easily turned the match into a blowout in the early minutes, but small tactical miscues and poorly placed passes or shots squandered all of the team’s threats n the only negative of the match from the coach’s point of view.
“[Scoring early] can be a difficult thing,” Kelso said. “But I think mostly it just becomes a frustration thing because time just keeps ticking by without results on the board. We had the opportunity to be up there three, four, five, maybe even six to nothing there in the first half, but we squandered opportunities again.
“But we got them into halftime and we regrouped and we re-emphasized to the boys what we were looking for and we really were much better.”
Kelso’s words held true as Vandebilt added three second half goals (from Austin Patin, Christopher Wood and Tyler Eaton) in worsening weather conditions to put Vandebilt well ahead.
With a huge lead, the Terriers relied on stingy defense and ball control offense to push into the next round n the goal of any soccer team making a postseason push.
“A win is a win at this stage of the game,” Kelso said. “This is a one and done thing now. Every game, you have to give your best effort and play well. And from here with each win, all of the opponents are a little more difficult each round.”
With the win, the Terriers will face a familiar foe n No. 8 Neville.
The Tigers earned their first round playoff bye with a dominant 15-5-4 regular season record.
Neville also will enter the match on an eight-match unbeaten streak in which the team posted a 7-0-1 record.
Kelso said Vandebilt has seen the Tigers throughout the season and has faced them a couple times in previous years.
The coach added he knows his team is in for a stiff challenge.
“They are a very tough, athletic team,” Kelso said. “For us, the fact that we have to travel up to there in Monroe, it’s going to be a tough environment for us to go out there. We need to just get out on the field and put on a good show.”
* Elsewhere in the Tri-parishes
Vandebilt wasn’t the only Tri-parish side to “put on a good show” in the opening round.
On the boys’ side in Division II, No. 12 Morgan City pushed into the second round, scoring an easy 4-0 decision over No. 21 South Terrebonne.
The Tigers advanced to face No. 5 Teurlings in a road match. The time and date for that match was unavailable at press time.
Also alive in Division II is No. 3 E.D. White, who earned a first round bye.
While the Terriers, Tigers and Cardinals remained alive, a couple of locals had their hopes dashed in the opening round.
In Division I, No. 30 South Lafourche dropped a 3-0 road match to state power No. 3 Brother Martin. In Division III, Houma Christian was bounced in the opening round, losing a 5-0 match to No. 6 University High.
On the girls’ side, several locals are also still in the hunt for the state championship.
In Division I, No. 15 Terrebonne survived a thriller, earning a 1-0 win against No. 18 Acadiana. With the win, the Lady Tigers moved to the next round to take on No. 2 St. Scholastica. That match was played last night with no score available at press time.
In Division II, No. 1 Vandebilt is in the second round after a first-round bye. Like Terrebonne, the Lady Terriers played a second-round match last night, battling No. 16 St. Michael. That score was unavailable at press time.
No. 10 Morgan City and No. 18 E.D. White are also still alive in Division II.
The Lady Tigers earned a 4-2 win over South Terrebonne in the opening round, moving on to face No. 7 Ursuline Academy.
The Lady Cardinals scored a 3-2 road victory against No. 15 Leesville, earning them the right to play No. 2 Teurlings.
Vandebilt Catholic eighth-grader Adam Farrar turns the corner in Saturday afternoon’s opening round playoff game against Belaire. The Terriers won the game 5-0 and moved to the second round. CASEY GISCLAIR
