St. Vincent’s season ends in quarterfinal loss

The St. Vincent girls’ soccer team’s season came to an end on Saturday after falling to Ursuline Academy 7-0 in the MSHSAA Class 3 State Quarterfinals at the Bank of Missouri Soccer Complex in Perryville.

The Indians entered the contest having scored 33 goals in their last seven games but had no answers for the Bears’ attack.

“I think there were a little quicker to the ball,” St. Vincent Todd Strattman said, “a little stronger.”

St. Vincent’s season ends with a 16-5 record. The last time the Indians won that many games was 2019, when they finished as state runner-ups in the Class 1 state tournament.

“We're still in my mind a 1A school and what we just did in 3A, I’m so proud of them,” Strattman said. “That’s just their 110% determination.”

After seven senior starters graduated last year, the 2023 season was originally supposed to be a transition year. Led by a team of energetic freshmen and sophomores, the Indians won more games than the previous two seasons and returned to the state tournament.

St. Vincent goalkeeper Jocelynn Leible finished her first season in front of the net with 10 shutouts to her name. She was among the handful of Indians who had to play through pain during this postseason run.

“I don't have one bad thing to say about any kid on the team,” Strattman said. “I thought we gave 110 percent all year long. We played hurt. We've had bruised, knees, ankles, broken fingers and our keeper was wrapped up today.”

Freshman Lana Adams has been the focal point of the offense all spring, leading to the jump from scoring 2.2 goals per game last season to scoring 4.4 goals per match this season. This young group scored one more goal per game than the squad that won back-to-back state championships in 2017-18 (3.1-3.3).

“She's been huge all year,” Strattman said of Adams. “I think the hardest thing for her to do is to adjust to our team. Once she did, we were scoring goals left and right. I think the stats show that we had 95 on the year so Lana was a part of that. It didn't take her too many games either to figure it out. She is used to playing with everybody of her caliber and she's playing with us. I thought she just did exceptionally well.”

What the underclassmen showed this year and what they will show next year is why Strattman believes with full confidence that the Indians will “come back stronger next year.”