YMCA SHRIMP DINNER
February 21, 2013
Ellender’s Talbot enjoys big collegiate game
February 26, 2013
The grey skies that hung over Tad Gormley Stadium on Saturday afternoon said all there was to say for the Vandebilt girls’ soccer team.
For the fourth-straight season, the Lady Terriers’ quest for the Division II State Championship ended one win short of its goal.
The Lady Terriers’ latest heartbreak came in a soggy, rain-altered match with Ben Franklin that was stopped for a 45-minute lightening delay midway through the scoreless opening half.
Once the storm ended, there was only gold at the end of the rainbow for Ben Franklin, who scored two second-half goals to earn a 2-0 win and the state championship.
The loss closed Vandebilt’s season with a 27-3-1 record.
Not getting that 28th win and the golden trophy is the only thing that will be in the minds of the Lady Terriers’ community in the immediate future.
“I was just so shocked that our result did not end up like we planned,” Vandebilt Catholic senior striker Makelle Pena said. “I can’t believe we’ve let another one slip away when we were so close. … It just didn’t turn out the way that we expected.”
Early on, it looked like Saturday would be a magical day for Vandebilt.
The Lady Terriers controlled the tempo of the match early in the opening half, possessing the ball on Ben Franklin’s side of the field for much of the early action.
Vandebilt had several early opportunities to score, firing several makeable shots at Ben Franklin’s defense.
But none of the shots reached the back of the net, which allowed the Falcons to exhale and gain their footing in the match.
Then the rains came.
Lightening around Tad Gormley Stadium caused the delay, which occurred just more than 26 minutes into the opening half.
Once back on the field, the Lady Terriers had a few more chances to break the ice, but they couldn’t get the go-ahead goal – pushing the match into halftime in a scoreless tie.
Pena said she didn’t think the weather delay had any impact on either side.
She added that the Falcons’ defensive alignment caused the Lady Terriers problems throughout the match and caused the scoring drought.
“They played with three center-mids and that caused us some problems because we only had two,” Pena said. “We weren’t able to get distribution to the attackers very well. … They kept a lot of pressure on me and Kim (Grasso).”
After surviving the early onslaught, Ben Franklin showed it had some offensive firepower in the second half.
The Falcons stormed out of the gates in the second half and changed the tempo of the match.
They struck first and took a 1-0 lead in the 44th minute when striker Audrey Peterson sailed the ball past Lady Terriers goalie Marianne Clark for a goal.
The score was set up on a free kick that was awarded after Vandebilt defender Shannon Matzke was issued a yellow card for an illegal tackle.
Not wanting to be conservative with the opening score, Ben Franklin kept pushing forward.
Their aggressiveness paid off, as they added another goal less than 10 minutes later when Alex Thomas pushed past the defense and beat Clark to put Ben Franklin ahead 2-0 in the 51st minute.
Down two goals, Vandebilt spend the rest of the match in a frenzy to close the gap.
The Lady Terriers had several looks at the goal in the final 30 minutes of the match, but they all came up short.
As the final seconds ticked off the clock, reality started to sink in again for Vandebilt’s players and staff – it was again unable to achieve a state championship.
As the final whistle blew, dry eyes were difficult to locate within the Lady Terriers’ sideline as players mourned the defeat.
The loss marked the end of the prep careers for Pena, Grasso and seven other seniors within the program.
The careers of those players will likely be best remembered in the general public for an inability to take home the golden trophy.
But Pena said she leaves Vandebilt with no regrets, adding that she wouldn’t trade her team for any other in the world.
“It’s just so heartbreaking to know we were so close,” Pena said. “I love this team and I couldn’t ask for a better group of soccer sisters that I will always remember.
“All you can do is wish next year’s players coming up good luck and tell them to keep pushing – to keep striving for the gold.”
Lady Terriers players hug for the final time on the season. Vandebilt lost in the state finals for the fourth-straight time Saturday in a 2-0 defeat at the hands of Ben Franklin.
