Girls Soccer Team Wins Sectional

October 20, 2010

Lafayette Jefferson High School

Lafayette Jeff wins with defense

By SAM KING • sking@jconline.com • October 20, 2010

In past years, Lafayette Jeff's girls soccer players used the week following sectional to gear up for the next extra-curricular activity.

Kayla McCall is one of the basketball team's top returning players. Meghan Houston is a member of the First Edition choir group. Today they'll take the soccer field at Logansport in no rush to make those activities their priority.

Instead, the seniors lead a Broncho defense into the regional championship against Kokomo fresh off a 1-0 upset of West Lafayette in Saturday's sectional championship.

"I love soccer and I am not ready for this season to be over," Houston said. "I am really glad we are still playing."

Lafayette Jeff coupled its only other sectional championship with a regional title in 2004. If the Bronchos are able to do so again, defense will be a main priority.

Shutting out West Lafayette on Saturday provided a confidence boost for the group.

Watching from her forward position, senior Paige Homeier saw the defense begin to gel late in the year. She was amazed at the results in the sectional.

"As I'm watching the defense, it was just unbelievable to me," Homeier said. "They seriously put everything on the line. It was amazing to watch."

McCall began the year as a midfielder and also played forward earlier in the season. Coach Coleen Hamrick believed McCall would be more valuable on defense, and the senior willingly accepted her new position.

The transition paid off and McCall, who celebrated a sectional basketball title two seasons ago, now has another trophy.

"I never thought I would get a sectional championship from playing soccer," McCall said. "To be with this great group of girls and to pull it off against West Side, it's been a great year.

"We have a lot of young girls that are going to have confidence in the next years to keep the program going."

But right now, it's about the seniors, who hope to add to their legacy with the program.

McCall, Houston, Shelby Everett and Jess Miller comprise a veteran-led backfield. It's a defense built on speed that also include Sara McDonald, Kelsey Simms and goalkeeper Allison Fohr.

"We're fortunate to have some really good speed," Hamrick said. "Every coach wants that in their defense. They want that in their forwards and in their midfield. In the conference we're in, you have to have speed in your defense. You have to be able to compete at that level or they'll run right by you."

Houston knows how important that speed was to getting to this point in the season.

"We can get back quickly and retrace our steps and then possibly get a ball back and go towards the goal," she said. "If they get a long ball over our heads, we can get back. Speed definitely has a factor in our game."

Lafayette Jeff defeated Kokomo 4-1 on Aug. 31. Another victory over the Wildkats will advance the team to Saturday's Fort Wayne Semistate.

"We don't want to underestimate them, but we are pretty confident," Homeier said. "We feel as long as we come out as tough as we can, that we have the ability to beat them. We have the skill and we have the leadership."