Sports
Visitation Ends Villa Soccer Season
The defending state champions defeat the Saints 3-0 Friday in the Class 2, District 5 championship game.
Visitation Academy soccer coach Dick Westbrook is not necessarily known for his fiery halftime speeches.
But when he talks, the Vivette players listen. Westbrook did some talking at halftime Friday in the Class 2 District 5 championship game against Villa Duchesne.
The top-seeded Vivettes were scoreless with the underdog Saints after the first 40 minutes.
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"We did not play well in the first half and that may have had as much to do with the way Villa played as we played," Westbrook said. "Villa played with a lot of heart. I talked about seven things at halftime and they were all negatives for Visitation and all positives for Villa."
The Vivettes got the message and scored three unanswered goals for a 3-0 victory in its first step towards defense of their Class 2 state championship.
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"I was proud of the way they played in the second half," Westbrook said. "Lydia Harlan and Elli Bumb are our playmakers in the midfield and we used them much better in the second half."
And the two proven finishers, Courtney Young and Jade Klump, did the rest.
Young scored the first two goals, one on a booming shot to the right corner and another on a give-and-go with Harlan.
"Those are the best," Young said of the goal which finally broke the ice for the Vivettes. "I was open and I just took it and hoped it would go in. Lydia and I are best friends and have been playing together since we were seven years old. We know each other well."
Young, who now has 20 goals, assisted on Klump's goal, which was her 23rd of the season. The final two goals came in the final 10 minutes of the game.
"Our girls were very focused and they fought hard today," Villa Duchesne coach Tim Twellman said. "We did a lot better than expected. That first goal was a beauty. There was not much you could do about that one."
The Saints finished the season with an 11-9 record.
"We achieved our team goals," Twellman said. "And we only lose three seniors so there is a lot to look forward to in the future."
The future is now for the Vivettes, who improved to 17-4 for the season. Visitation will travel to St. Charles Tuesday for a Class 2 sectional game at 5 p.m.