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March 2, 2016Minor closure in South Hollywood this weekend
March 3, 2016
At his club’s first official practice last fall, Vandebilt Catholic girls’ soccer coach Philip Amedee created a team goal for the 2015-16 season.
“I told them that our prize for this year would be to win the last game of the season,” Amedee said. “We weren’t shy. We wanted to be the team standing there holding that big trophy in the end.”
Mission accomplished.
The Vandebilt Catholic girls’ soccer team are officially state champions.
The Lady Terriers took home the Division III crown on Thursday, scoring a decisive 3-1 victory over Sacred Heart in the LHSAA State Championship Match at Tad Gormley Stadium in New Orleans.
The victory marks the third-ever state title for the Vandebilt girls and it’s the seventh time in 10 years that the local program reaches the State Championship Match.
It’s the first title win for the Lady Terriers’ six-member senior class, which finished as runners up as freshmen. But they’ll now go out at the pinnacle of the sport – exactly where Amedee said they belong.
The coach said that as the final seconds ticked off the clock, he and his players released pure joy – pride and exuberance at knowing that all of the hard work that’s been put in over the past months had finally paid off.
“I am just so happy for the girls,” Amedee said. “As that clock ticks down, you just think about all that hard work that they put in. This is a special group, and they’ve been special really the whole season. We’re so fortunate and blessed to win a state championship. So many people play soccer, but so few get the chance to get this opportunity. We’re so blessed.”
“It’s so hard to believe that it’s true,” junior center defender Julianne DeBlieux added. “It’s one of those things you just can’t describe. This game was really tough because the officials added six minutes of stoppage time. It was the longest six minutes of my life. We held them, and when the final whistle blew, everything just went crazy.”
The Lady Terriers were on a mission throughout Thursday night’s match.
Of course, the objective was to win the state title. But revenge was also at stake in the big game.
Vandebilt lost to Sacred Heart during the season – a match that Amedee and the Lady Terriers remember vividly because they
controlled the action, but just couldn’t put the ball in the back of the net.
In fact, the first half of Thursday’s game felt, at times, like a mirror of the regular season match, as Vandebilt got several quality shots, but just couldn’t send any home. The game was tied 0-0 at half.
“I could see we were a little frustrated by it,” Amedee said of the inability to score early. “But I just told them at halftime not to worry because this was our game. We were confident in how it was going. We knew that we had to get one before it was over.”
They ended up getting three in the second half.
Two of those came in the first 100 seconds of action.
Striker Molly Thompson broke the ice for the Lady Terriers, banging home a putback after a Hannah Cuneo shot was saved and deflected. The goal gave Vandebilt a 1-0 lead.
That advantage doubled just a few seconds later when Thompson set up junior striker Grace Champagne for another goal to make it 2-0.
“After the second goal, our dream was really starting to look like a reality,” DeBlieux said. “We were so excited.”
But Sacred Heart still had plenty of time to make it interesting.
The No. 2 seed cut the deficit to one with just more than 20 minutes to go after a Vandebilt handball awarded Sacred Heart a penalty kick.
Emily Hardie nailed it into the back of the net to cut the advantage to 2-1.
From there, Sacred Heart pushed forward heavily to try and get an equalizer. The strategy initially worked, then backfired. Sacred Heart got a couple good looks at the net – including one shot that almost struck the crossbar.
But after the initial onslaught, Vandebilt counter attacked and sealed the deal when Cuneo put one in the back of the net late to go up 3-1.
That was the backbreaker for Sacred Heart, and the beginning of the celebration for Vandebilt.
The final minutes weren’t filled with much drama, as the Lady Terriers easily withstood Sacred Heart’s attempts at a rally.
“It feels great to be a state champion,” senior Jeanne Harson said. “Just knowing all the hard work we put in had paid off is just so satisfying. … What really allowed us to be good all year was the sacrifices we made and our dedication and love for the game. This was our goal – to win the last game. That’s exactly what we did.”
As the last whistle blew, Amedee said he immediately thought about the team’s six seniors and how he was happy that they could go out with a bang.
The Lady Terriers graduate Harson, Julia Hebert, Haley Collins, Celeste LeCompte, Sara Clement and Katelyn Vanderkamp this season.
“I told them, ‘You just accomplished something that nobody can ever take from you,”‘ Amedee said. “This is going to be a lifetime memory for our kids. They’re going to talk about it at every class reunion, every get together and every place else. I wanted them to know how special they were, and how much I respected and appreciated the hard work they put in to our program over these years.”
And for the others who aren’t graduating, the celebration was still fun, but it was shorter lived.
Amedee said he told his underclassmen that success breeds success, and he wants the team to already be thinking about next year.
With a huge core returning, the coach said he isn’t worried about his players being motivated during the offseason.
“This group stays hungry,” Amedee said. “I told them, ‘Next season starts tomorrow.’ They wouldn’t have wanted it any other way. They’re driven. We got our goal once. Now, our goal is to get back and do it again.”
The Vandebilt girls’ soccer team poses with their loot – the Division III State Championship Trophy. Behind them are about 500 of their biggest fans, who cheered them on for the game.
The Vandebilt Catholic girls’ soccer team finished the season with their No. 1 goal in hand. They are the Division III State Champs. Here is a photo look at the big game.
