Labon "Jake" Porche Jr.
February 17, 2009
Esther Marie LeBoeuf LeCompte
February 19, 2009
One Vandebilt Catholic soccer dynasty came to an end while another seems to be getting started during the Division II playoffs last week.
On Saturday, the top-seeded defending state champion Lady Terriers earned their third state title game appearance in four years by beating fourth seeded Deridder 4-0 in the semifinal match at Buddy Marcello Stadium.
Vandebilt (22-3-2) will host the state championship game Friday at 6 pm third-seeded Teurlings Catholic at Buddy Marcello Stadium.
“The girls played the type of team soccer we’ve been working on all year,” said Vandebilt head coach Philip Amedee. “We played aggressively and kept the ball in our end of the field most of the game.”
Senior Cayla Chatman scored three goals in the contest. Senior Kandace Alexander had the assist on Chatman’s initial score in the 12th minute, and cross passes from her teammates set up the other scores at the 24th and 40th minute marks.
“The first goal was a set play we’ve practiced everyday this season,” Chatman said. “Finally it went in for us. Like they say, practice makes perfect.”
“Cayla was awesome tonight. She’s been a leader for us for a long time,” Amedee explained. “She stepped up and had a good game, but it’s due to the teamwork that’s going on around her. “We play as a team. We win as a team.”
Junior Casey Price scored the other goal for Vandebilt in the 23rd minute.
The Lady Terriers barely survived 3-2 victory over ninth seeded Neville last Tuesday to get to the semifinals. Senior Allyson Voisin blasted the game-wining goal with eight minutes left in that game.
Deridder had defeated the Morgan City Lady Tigers 4-0 last Tuesday to advance.
But Vandebilt dominated the Lady Dragons, only giving up one shot on goal on a free kick. Vandebilt had 46 shots on goal.
“We have a great defense that smothers any attack the opposition may have,” Amedee said.
Now Vandebilt looks to repeat as Division II state champions this weekend. The Lady Terriers defeated St. Michael 3-0 last year for their first ever state soccer title.
For Chatman and the rest of the seniors, playing their final game in front of the home crowd with the title at stake is sure to make for an unforgettable experience.
“This one of the best feelings in the world. There are no words to describe it,” Chatman said. “It’s going to be great to end my high school career in soccer at home. It would be exciting to end it with a state championship.”
Amedee said this squad would have to play as tough and cohesive as they have all season to beat Teurlings Catholic.
“Teurlings will be a tough opponent. They play excellent soccer,” he said. “We’ll have our work cut out for us, but we look forward to the challenge.”
Meanwhile, the seven-year streak of Vandebilt boys’ team in the state championship game ended in the quarterfinals last Monday when they lost to eighth-seeded Loyola College Prep of Shreveport 4-3 in a shootout.
Both teams went scoreless through 110 minutes of action.
“We had several opportunities (to score in regulation) at close range, but we didn’t take advantage of any of them,” said Terrier assistant coach Matt Kelso. “When you don’t score, you don’t win.”
In the shootout, Terriers T.J. Freeman, Cameron Burchak and Robert Perez scored; but, Loyola goalkeeper J.P. McPhillips stopped shots from Ethan Himel and Christopher Watson to preserve the victory.
Vandebilt, which was ranked No. 1 in Division II all season, finished the year with a 19-5-1 record.
Kelso said he felt most hurt for the seniors. They are the first graduating class in eight years not to end their prep soccer career playing for the state title in Shreveport’s Independence Stadium.
However, Kelso believes this lost will only mark a set back, not an end to the Terriers reign of excellence.
“We still have a good core of players coming back next year,” he said. “We just have retool and see if we can get back to the champion level we’re used to.”
Senior Cayla Chatman blasted three goals in Vandebilt win over Deridder on Saturday. The Lady Terriers will defend their Division II soccer championship this weekend at Buddy Marcello Stadium. * Photo by KEYON K. JEFF
