Post by soccdad on Mar 26, 2015 7:01:46 GMT -6
University Lab's Thomas Kobetz, Elizabeth Bankhead win Baton Rouge Male and Female Soccer Players of the Year
By Mark Clements, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune
on March 25, 2015 9:00 AM, updated March 25, 2015 9:29 AM
The Baton Rouge area soccer season was highlighted by several skilled schools from across the region, but none stood out quite like University Lab did.
The Cubs’ clubs – both male and female – showed dominance in the regular season by each finishing with just one blip in the loss column and a clean sweep through District 7-III to earn the league crown.
Both teams entered the postseason as the No. 2 seed in the Division III playoffs and both made deep runs in the playoffs, with the girls squad earning their first state championship since 1998 and the boys coming just penalty kicks shy of their first finals appearance since 2010.
A strong defense carried the lady Cubs to the top of Division III, while the boys team boasted an impressive 4.75 goals per game clip all year long, making goalkeeper Elizabeth Bankhead and forward Thomas Kobetz obvious choices for NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune’s Baton Rouge Male and Female Soccer Players of the Year.
“This season in my opinion was definitely the best season that I've ever had,” said Kobetz, who transferred to U-High from Catholic High his sophomore season. “I came to U-High my sophomore year and luckily I was eligible. In 3 seasons, I would say by far this one is my favorite. I think that we had the most talent and I think that we meshed together better than any other team. I think we had chemistry, and I think this year we wanted it more than any other year. And not just us, but Chris (Mitchell, head coach), which is another good thing. We had a coach that really wanted it just as badly and maybe even more than we did. That kind of drove us there.”
The boys’ Cubs finished the yea with seven straight shutouts, while scoring at least four goals in six of those matches.
Kobetz was one of the main catalysts of that success, scoring 36 goals and 18 assists on the season, which led his team in both categories.
“Honestly, if I could say that all of those goals were for anything, I would say two people – Martin Padial and Miguel Vilas,” Kobetz said. “We just read each other. We didn't even have to speak. I would make a run and Martin or Miguel would have the ball and immediately know where I was going to run and where they needed to play the ball. They would play me the ball, and I would create the chance and I finished.”
The senior’s efforts not only helped U-High record 23 wins on the season – the most any boys has ever had in program history – but it’s also potentially earned him a spot on a college roster.
Kobetz has been in communication with West Florida University for several months and plans to train with team in a few weeks.
Now that Kobetz’ prep career has ended, he can focus on his move to the next level. But for Bankhead, her scope will soon narrow to her senior season, where she hopes to lead a repeat charge to the state finals for the female Cubs.
Bankhead, who received a scholarship offer from LSU last week, was the backbone of a U-High defense that surrendered just seven goals the entire season.
“Goalkeeping isn’t about making that one big save,” Bankhead said. “It’s about reducing the amount of shots that are made on you in a game. The communication between our backs was wonderful. I don’t think you can get any better combination of people.”
Bankhead allowed just one multi-goal game all season and posted 20 clean sheets on the season, including a streak of 16 consecutive shutouts.
That perfect stretch didn’t end until the semifinals, when the Cubs beat soccer powerhouse Academy of the Sacred Heart to advance to the finals.
There, they would defeat Pope John Paul II, 3-1, to cap off their remarkable season in the most fulfilling way.
“We just focused game-by-game,” Bankhead said. “Starting off in the playoffs, our (coaches) made the point that every game is the same, no matter if it’s preseason or the finals of the playoffs. It’s the same thing. It’s just a regular game. Don’t treat it like anything else. We treated that championship game like it was a game in the preseason or the regular season. We kept everything relaxed and calm. We weren’t too excited about anything. We didn’t get our hopes up or lower our expectations.”
While Bankhead has already accomplished a ton – she’s won a state title and earned multiple college offers before her senior year – there’s still more she wants to build on for her final campaign.
And with a good portion of the Cubs coming back in 2016, U-High may not be done adding some silverware to its trophy case.
“I think individually, I just want to focus on maintaining my abilities and perfecting those little things that you need like footwork and communication, getting those things down,” Bankhead said. “As a whole, I would say the team is pretty solid – as solid as it comes. We are like a family. That's a very important part of any team. You have to be connected and you have to be able to play well together. Being like a family helps that aspect of the sport.”