St. Vincent girls soccer team loses in Class 1 state title game

FENTON, Mo. -- There weren't many tears shed by the St. Vincent girls soccer team after Saturday's Class 1 state title game.

Sure, disappointment abound.

But after playing 80 minutes in a blazing sun with the temperature in the mid 90s, tears required too much energy.

"We knew we had a great season and we kind of proved everyone wrong because no one expected us to get here or even win districts this year," St. Vincent junior Abby Lappe said. "There's nothing to be ashamed of. We're very proud of what we did and it was a really good game. It's not like we got blown out or anything."

Springfield Catholic played the villain's role for the second consecutive season. The Irish scored in the final 10 minutes to snap a tied game then rebuffed every Indians attempt to pull even at the Anheuser-Busch Center.

Springfield Catholic held on for the 3-2 victory to capture its second straight state crown. The Indians lost to the Irish 1-0 in last year's state semifinal.

"It was definitely very motivating knowing that we got to play them again," St. Vincent senior Chelsie Boxdorfer said. "It just sucks to lose."

Both teams went on the offensive in the first half. The Irish created some great chances but couldn't capitalize. They tried playing the ball over the St. Vincent defense and then running to the ball, but the Indians' defense would have none of it.

It was the Indians who struck first.

Lappe gained control of the ball in the middle of the field and worked her way toward the goal. She danced around defenders to cut in from the side of the box and finally took a shot when she maneuvered into the box. She slammed the ball into the right side of the goal for a 1-0 lead with 24 minutes, 44 seconds left before halftime.

"I was more looking for an open person," she said. "But I just kept going around people and I saw I was in front of the net and thought I might as well take a shot. I didn't think it was going to be as good a shot as it was."

The Indians jumped up and down in excitement with hugs and high-fives all around. The bench joined in the celebration.

The good vibes didn't last long.

Rebekah Bade bounced a shot off St. Vincent goalkeeper Katie Mattingly, who was on the ground after making an initial save, and into the goal just 20 seconds after Lappe's tally to even the score at 1-1.

"I think it was just a gut check," St. Vincent senior Kelci Besand said. "It kind of made us regroup. We were kind of on that high. When that happens, we tend to lay back a little bit, and that's exactly what happened today. We just kind of sat on it a little bit too long -- only 20 seconds -- and they took advantage of it."

Springfield Catholic nearly took the lead less than a minute later when Bade's shot smooched the crossbar and bounced away.

The Irish grabbed their first lead of the game when Jordan Banasik's rocket from outside the box ripped into the upper corner of the goal for a 2-1 lead.

But the Indians battled back to tie the game about 10 minutes later. Freshman Holly Blandford, who scored twice in Friday's state semifinal, sent a ball into the box and Boxdorfer was able to locate it and put it past Irish goalkeeper Megan Goetzinger.

"It was just one of those I was right there at the right time," Boxdorfer said. "The girl behind me kind of helped it go in too."

It looked like the teams would enter halftime deadlocked at 2-2 until St. Vincent junior Storm French was called for a push in the box, which resulted in an Irish penalty kick, with 55 seconds remaining before halftime.

Springfield Catholic senior Natalie Smid sent a wormburner toward the corner, but Mattingly blocked the shot to keep the game tied.

"You can never tell from where they are standing because they can go either way," Mattingly said about how she played the penalty kick. "You never want to be guessing because then the shot that comes right at you, you might miss."

The four first-half goals caught the Indians by surprise.

"I expected it to be 1-0 because we were two evenly matched teams," French said about the game. "It just went back and forth, which showed how evenly matched we were."

Springfield Catholic coach Ben Timson anticipated a half like the one he got.

"We are a very attack-minded team this year," he said. "We've been playing three forwards up top, kind of leaving our defense a little bit exposed a bit to try to push everything at the goal. St. Vincent is just incredible. ... I figured we were going to give up a few goals as good as they are. We were essentially just hoping and praying that we could outscore them."

There were few similarities between the first half and second half. The Irish dominated play after the intermission, creating chance after chance, while the Indians struggled to generate opportunities.

"It was such an evenly matched game that we were constantly sprinting back and forth," Boxdorfer said. "We were trying to sub in and out and people weren't feeling good. It was just tough."

The Irish finally retook the lead with 9:32 left in the game. Freshman Nicole Ortega blasted a shot at Mattingly from point-blank range, and Mattingly managed to deflect it. The ball ricocheted right in front of the goal and a second shot hit the crossbar and bounced right back down, where freshman Lydia Holtman was able to put it into the open net.

"It's awesome," Holtman said. "It's crazy. It was just sort of bobbling in the middle. Then I just had to get my foot out and touch it."

The Indians tried to get the equalizer but never got a decent chance.

"We just had to regroup and keep pushing because we all believed in ourselves and we all knew we could do it if we really wanted to," said French, who played all 80 minutes. "But the heat played a big toll on us and we had to keep subbing."

St. Vincent coach Dusty Wengert credited Springfield Catholic's depth, especially in the heat, for the Irish's ability to control the tempo in the second half. The Irish regularly use 16 or 17 players while the Indians employ 12 or 13 regulars.

"I really felt good coming out of half," Wengert said. "After those first 20 minutes, I thought, 'Oh no, we're in for it. We need to get something quick.'"