Crucial save aids St. Vincent in Class 3 District 1 soccer championship win

St. Vincent goalkeeper Addison Cates watches a kick sail downfield in Wednesday's Class 3 District 1 soccer championship against Cape Central at Tiger Stadium. The Indians beat the Tigers 3-1 to advance to sectionals.

J.C. Reeves ~ jcreeves@semoball.com

Trailing 2-1 with just over 20 minutes left in Wednesday’s Class 3 District 1 championship game Cape Central found an open lane to the net.

St. Vincent junior goalkeeper Addison Cates was the only thing standing in the way of the Tigers tying the game.

“When she came down I didn’t really know what was going to happen,” Cates said. “My main goal was to just throw my body in front of the ball.”

Throw her body in front of the ball is exactly what Cates did, earning a crucial save to help the Indians claim the district title with a 3-1 victory at Tiger Stadium.

“I want her to be aggressive and trust her instincts. She did on that play and thank God she did, otherwise we’d have had a tie game,” St. Vincent coach Cory Strattman said. “Allie missed the first five or six games with a foot injury from basketball, so I was happy for her. As soon as she came back we kind of got all the pieces together.”

The St. Vincent soccer team celebrates after beating Cape Central 3-1 in Wednesday's Class 3 District 1 championship at Tiger Stadium.

J.C. Reeves ~ jcreeves@semoball.com

With 4:05 remaining in the game, St. Vincent capitalized off a Genevieve Lipe penalty kick which the Indians received after Central’s starting goalkeeper Demi Drum was issued a yellow card for touching the ball outside of the goal box and had to sit out.

“Regardless of who’s in there we try to do what we can to make things work,” Strattman said. “I’m happy for Genna to get those two goals tonight. She plays hard all the time, and I’m happy to see her get those two goals for sure.”

Lipe scored her first goal with 11:49 remaining in the first half to tie the game at 1-1. Just under eight minutes into the second half, freshman forward Cailyn Prost scored to break the tie and give the Indians a 2-1 lead.

“I’m just happy for the girls, happy for the program and happy for their parents, friends and family,” Strattman said. “SV is a small community, a small family, and to see everybody here celebrating together, that’s why you do it.”

Cape Central’s lone goal came just over halfway through the first half when junior Bradyn Pittman found the back of the net to put the Tigers up 1-0.

Cape Central's Bradyn Pittman celebrates her first-half goal in Wednesday's Class 3 District 1 championship against St. Vincent at Tiger Stadium.

J.C. Reeves ~ jcreeves@semoball.com

“They’re probably the most physical team that we’ve seen all season, and we knew we had to match that otherwise, we’d be in trouble,” Strattman said. “We kind of felt like we had a little more depth than they would, so if we played a full 80 we’d be OK. I think, ultimately, that’s the way it played out. They might have got a little tired there toward the end and we’ve got a deep bench that we’ve always used to our advantage. It worked out tonight.”

St. Vincent (13-8) advances to the sectional round to face Windsor (15-8). The Owls won the Class 3 District 2 championship over Farmington 3-0 Wednesday night. Cape Central's season ends at 13-7, and the Tigers will graduate five seniors from the roster.

“We hope we can compete with anybody we play,” Strattman said. “Give the girls a little day off, the seniors have graduation tomorrow. We’ll evaluate and maybe practice tomorrow, give them a couple of days off, get back after it Monday and be ready for whoever we face next.”

Cates had one word in mind when asked about the Indians’ goal for the remainder of the season.

“State,” she said.