Eno Lirette
February 12, 2007Broadcasters enjoy a boon market in Tri-parishes
February 14, 2007
In its Regional playoff game, the Lafayette Lady Lions showed why they are the defending state champions, beating Terrebonne 3-0 at Tom B. Smith Stadium, last Tuesday night.
Lafayette scored goals in the 36th, 54th and 79th minutes to take the win and move into the Quarterfinal round. The Lady Lions used success on set plays, scoring on two corner kicks, and a strong defense to record the shutout. “Those are actually the two biggest things that we’ve been working at really hard in practice,” said Lafayette coach Katie Breaux. “So I’m glad to see it come back here in the game.”
Terrebonne coach Julio Contreras had nothing but praise for the Lady Lions. “This (Lafayette) team has the whole package,” he said. “They know how to finish corner kicks. They have excellent center midfielders. They can shoot from the outside. They have more than one route of attack. They’re a complete team.”
Still, the Lady Tigers nearly got on the board first, but an early goal was negated by an offside call.
After that, both teams played evenly until the 36th minute when Molly Judice headed a Jennifer Hopkins’ corner kick into the back of the net for a 1-0 lead, a score that remained that way for halftime.
Lafayette executed on another corner kick in the 54th minute, but this time it was Caroline Klara putting in Judice’s cross.
Terrebonne tried to answer, but never seriously threatened, and Lafayette’s Erin Burney added a late goal.
Breaux said adding an extra defender played a role in holding the Lady Tigers scoreless. “We noticed they obviously stuck No. 4 up top, and in the past we’ve had trouble sorting our defense and who to mark,” she said. “We sorted it out where we pulled one of our outside defenders and stuck her over so we’d have the sweeper as the second defender. The players did a beautiful job of that.”
Despite the loss, Contreras said he was pleased with his team’s play. “Our team fought all the way until the end,” he said. “They never gave up, and they never put their heads down. I’m very proud of them for doing that and for making the effort of working together.”
