St. Vincent knew earning another district championship would not come easy.
Facing a familiar postseason power in St. Pius X, the Lady Indians turned in one of their strongest performances of the season, scoring once in the first half and twice after intermission to defeat the Lancers 3-0 in the Class 2, District 1 championship game on May 21 at The Bank of Missouri Soccer Complex in Perryville.
The victory secured St. Vincent’s 10th district championship in the last 17 seasons and sent the Lady Indians to the Class 2 state quarterfinals, where they will face Westminster Christian.
“St. Pius is always solid,” St. Vincent coach Cari Barnes said. “We knew they’d come out and play hard against us. They’re a talented group and they always are. They move the ball well, they’re quick — just always solid all the way through.”
The Lady Indians entered the title match expecting a physical, intense battle from a St. Pius X team that finished the season 15-6, but St. Vincent answered with a complete performance on both ends of the field.
Senior standout Lana Adams led the offense with 2 goals and 1 assist, while Morgan Schnurbusch added a goal as the Lady Indians improved to 19-2 on the season.
St. Vincent broke through for the only goal of the first half before adding 2 more scores after halftime to gradually pull away.
“We knew we had to play our best game,” Adams said. “We did, we came out, we showed it, we finished. As a team, a great performance.”
Chloe House earned the shutout in goal for the Lady Indians, preserving the clean sheet in an 80-minute effort as St. Vincent held one of the area’s stronger offensive teams scoreless.
Barnes credited the team’s preparation and execution for helping the Lady Indians handle the challenge.
“I’m proud of all the girls, they pulled together well,” Barnes said. “I think we knew what to expect coming in just watching them yesterday and just playing them in years past. We kind of knew what to expect and I think the girls came out and they executed well and just really proud of them how well they played.”
The Lady Indians also leaned on senior leadership in a high-pressure environment.
Barnes said her seniors understood the importance of extending their season.
“My seniors, they love this group so well,” Barnes said. “They came into it knowing that they didn’t want this to be their last game, so I’m just super proud of them coming out and playing hard and bringing the rest of the girls up.”
Senior defender Rylee Robinson said St. Vincent’s success came from a collective effort and preparation in practice.
“It’s a team effort,” Robinson said. “Everything we do in practice reflects on the field and that happened today. We worked on communicating, we worked in practice and we all did that. We knew if we did those things it was going to be a good outcome.”
Sadie Cissell, also a senior, added that the Lancers provided one of the tougher challenges the Lady Indians had faced recently.
“Very competitive,” Cissell said. “They came out a lot better than what we’ve seen in their past few games.”
Barnes said the championship continues a successful stretch for the program, noting St. Vincent has now captured 4 district titles in her 6 seasons leading the team.
Now, the Lady Indians will turn their attention to Westminster Christian with a trip to the state semifinals on the line.
“We’ll look into it this week, maybe watch some game film and just kind of prepare and see what’s ahead,” Barnes said.
St. Vincent 9,
Lutheran South 1
PERRYVILLE — Top-seeded St. Vincent wasted little time asserting control in the Class 2, District 1 semifinals, scoring 5 first-half goals on its way to a 9-1 victory over fourth-seeded Lutheran South on May 20 at The Bank of Missouri Soccer Complex in Perryville.
The Lady Indians improved to 19-2 and advanced to the district championship match behind a dominant offensive effort led by Lana Adams and Sloane Wibbenmeyer.
Adams scored 4 goals to pace the St. Vincent attack, while Wibbenmeyer added 3 goals and 1 assist. Morgan Schnurbusch and Olivia Winkler also scored for the Lady Indians.
St. Vincent built a commanding 5-0 lead by halftime before adding 4 more goals after intermission.
Emery Amschler recorded a goal and an assist, while Sadie Cissell, Aubrey Emmendorfer, Grace Jenneman and Rylee Robinson each contributed an assist.
Chloe House earned the win in goal for St. Vincent, allowing 1 goal in 60 minutes of work.
Lutheran South, which finished the season 6-11-1, avoided the shutout on a second-half goal from Wyatt Haines. Reese Bonastia assisted on the score.
Adams accounted for 8 points in the victory, while Wibbenmeyer finished with 6 points and Schnurbusch and Winkler added 3 apiece as St. Vincent continued its push toward another postseason run.
