The St. Vincent Lady Indians had another successful season in 2026, which included a district championship, and a second consecutive trip to the state finals, finishing third with a final overall record of 21-3. The Lady Indians only lost two matches in the regular season, going undefeated in their district.
The team dominated the games they won thanks to incredible offensive performance and goal scoring backed by tough defense. The Lady Indians finished the season scoring 134 goals while allowing only 26. 70 of those goals came from senior standout Lana Adams. Adams led the team all year, including a record breaking performance in the state third place game. Adams also led the team in assists (18).
“70 goals is mindblowing to say the least, she has been phenomenal all four years for us, even coming off an injury her sophomore year and still having a successful year” head coach Cari Barnes said. “But she is also just fun as a person, she is always out there playing not just for herself, she is out there for her team, leading everybody, constantly helping, I don’t think I can say enough good things about that kid.”
St. Vincent underclassmen contributed a lot to the success of the season as well, freshman and sophomore players accounted for 47 goals, including 23 from freshman Sloan Wibbenmeyer and another 12 from sophomore Morgan Schnurbusch. Freshman Chloe House was the goalkeeper for most of the season, finishing with a record of 19-2 and 20 goals against for a .905 save percentage.
“We had a lot of underclassmen this year who stepped up, I am super excited for what that means for our future,” Barnes said. “I have nine freshmen as a whole and five or six were starting most games, that’s huge. Then we had three sophomores who were huge contributors, and a few were battling through injuries, but they were all starting or coming off the bench and contributing.”
Barnes said part of why they were so successful this season was because of how the seniors took leadership roles and helped the younger athletes.
“Im super proud of my seniors, they truly stepped up,” she said. “When you have such a young squad, good leadership is essential, they really stepped up and did a phenomenal job helping the underclassmen, picking them up, and helping them find their confidence, which isn’t always easy when you are so young and stepping onto the stage that they did this year.”
Barnes identified Rylee Robinson as her best player defensively on the season.
“Our defense has been solid for the past few years, and Rylee has been a huge part of that for all four years of her high school career,” Barnes said.
The year included a finals appearance in a season opening invitational tournament in Rolla, and a championship in a mid-season tournament held in Perryville in May. In Rolla, St. Vincent reached the final by beating Union 3-0 and Washington 3-1, before falling 6-4 in the championship to Springfield Catholic. In the May tournament, the Lady Indians went undefeated with a 10-0 win over Fredericktown in the quarterfinal, a 9-1 win over Lutheran South in the semi-final, and a 3-0 win over St. Pius X in the final.
Several St. Vincent players received all-conference and all-region honors. Lana Adams, Rylee Robinson and Aubrey Emmandorfer were named to the all-conference first team in the Jefferson County Athletic Association. Sloan Wibbenmeyer and Sadie Cissell were second team selections. Grace Jennemann was named as an honorable mention. Adams, Robinson, Emmendorfer, Wibbenmeyer and Morgan Schnurbusch received all-region honors. Adams was named player of the year for both the conference and region, and Barnes was named coach of the year in both. Robinson was named defensevie player of the year for the all-region team.
“I am so proud of those girls and I think it is well deserved for all the hard work they have put in their careers, I’m glad they get to finish their years with the recognition they deserve,” Barnes said. “I am blessed with a group of girls who have had great coaches before me, so they make my job easier.”
The season marked the second consecutive state finals appearance for St. Vincent, and Barnes said she is confident that with the performance of her underclassmen, and the help they have gotten this year from the graduating seniors, the future is bright for the Lady Indians.
