Colonels on a roll as SLC Tourny nears
February 19, 2013
Prep playoffs get under way for several Tri-parish teams
February 19, 2013
Vandebilt Catholic seniors Kimberly Grasso and Makelle Pena were not going to let their final home game be spoiled by Lutcher in Friday night’s Division II State Semifinals match.
The two Lady Terrier strikers pounded the Tigers early and often in the match, each recording a hat trick in a 7-1 victory.
The win pushes Vandebilt to the state finals, where they will play Ben Franklin on Saturday in the finals at Tad Gormley Stadium.
It also marks a fitting close to the home career of the Lady Terriers’ duo and the team’s other seniors.
“We knew there was no way that we could lose our last game here,” Pena said following the win. “We just worked hard and didn’t let anything get in our way. We just focused and did what we had to do to get the win.”
“It’s very appropriate that things ended this way for them,” Lady Terriers’ coach Philip Amedee added. “Those two seniors are the heart and soul of my team – they are the straw that stirs our drink. They were intent on getting the better of Lutcher tonight and they proved it. They didn’t let up. You can see just the true leadership and ability. … There was no other way for this to end – other than with a win.”
It didn’t take long for the crowd in Buddy Marcello Stadium to see that Pena and Grasso were going to wreak havoc on Lutcher.
In the fourth minute of the match, Pena penetrated deep into the Tigers’ defense and made a brilliant cross to Grasso, who nestled the ball into the back of the net to give Vandebilt a 1-0 advantage.
The Tigers initially stood tall in the face of the Lady Terriers’ pressure, tying the game in the 11th minute on a counter-attack goal from Kassidy Zeringue.
It was all Pena and Grasso from there.
Pena pumped home her first goal of the match in the 20th minute – rocketing a shot in the back of the net to put Vandebilt ahead 2-1.
She added another just four minutes later to put the Lady Terriers ahead 3-1.
Grasso struck back in the 34th minute on a perfectly-timed shot to put Vandebilt up 4-1 at halftime.
The seniors said getting off to a good start was something they considered as a key to the match.
“We wanted to just come out aggressive and apply pressure to them and see if they could defend us for the whole match,” Grasso said. “Fortunately we got some chances, took advantage of them and built a good lead.”
Pena earned her hat trick right out of the gate in the second half, scoring her third goal of the match and 51st of the season in the 43rd minute to give Vandebilt a 5-1 lead.
Grasso matched Pena’s third score with one of her own in the match’s final seconds.
In between, eighth grader Grace Champagne also snuck one into the net for Vandebilt to secure the 7-1 win.
With the win, the Lady Terriers’ attention is now squarely focused on revenge.
Vandebilt has been to the Division II finals in five-straight seasons. But the Lady Terriers have fallen short of the championship three years in a row.
To get the monkey off their back this time around, Vandebilt must defeat No. 3 Ben Franklin, who advanced to the finals with a 3-2 road win against No. 2 Teurlings Catholic.
Amedee said he knows his team is facing a worthy foe in the finals.
He added that he will challenge his team to have one of the best weeks of practice they’ve ever had to prepare.
“There’s a lot of work to be done and there’s a lot that we need to get better at before Saturday,” Amedee said. “There’s going to be a lot of hard work done over here to prepare us for the state championship game.”
It won’t be hard to sell that concept to Pena and Grasso.
After three-straight years of losing the final game of the season, the duo is ready to ride into the collegiate level as champions.
“We have one more goal and we have one more task ahead of us,” Pena said. “If we keep our minds focused for one more week, we think we have a chance to do something special here.”
“We’re all motivated and we all know what we need to do to get it done this time,” Grasso added. “We know how it feels to walk off the field having fallen short. Now, we’re ready to go and win it. We really think this is our time and our year to go and win it.”
Vandebilt Catholic eighth grader Grace Champagne dribbles the ball in traffic during a match this season. The Lady Terriers’ standout scored a goal in the team’s 7-1 semifinals win against Lutcher. Champagne’s goal was aided by six combined scored between seniors Makelle Pena and Kimberly Grasso. With the win, Vandebilt now moves on to the Division II State Championship Match.
