Here is the game article if anyone is interested in reading it.
From the Houma Courier:
www.houmatoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20040122/SPORTS/401220314/1032HIGH SCHOOL SOCCER
Vandy outlasts St. Thomas More
By JUAN ANTHONY NATHAN
Courier Correspondent
After 80-plus grueling minutes, Vandebilt Catholic held on to its No. 1 ranking, with a 2-1 win over St. Thomas More.
HOUMA – The top two boys’ soccer teams in the state, Vandebilt Catholic and St. Thomas More, met at Buddy Marcello Stadium Wednesday on night and battled it out for 80-plus grueling minutes.
In the end, Vandebilt found itself safely holding on to its No. 1 ranking, as the Terriers beat St. Thomas More, 2-1.
“This is the third time we played St. Thomas More this year,” Vandebilt coach Doug Hamilton said. “They’re currently ranked No. 2; we’re ranked No. 1. It’s not a rivalry game, but we know that we’re probably going to meet somewhere in the playoffs.
“It just so happened that we met each other twice in tournaments. We didn’t anticipate playing each other three times to this point, but it was a good, competitive game.”
Josh Lapeyre and Raul Doria led the Terriers (18-6, 3-0) to victory as they each a goal in the first half. Vandebilt goalie Ryan Porche finished the game with nine saves.
The Terriers scored two additional goals in the second half, but both of them were called back due to offside penalties.
"From 70 yards away you can’t tell (whether they were good goals), but that’s part of the game, Hamilton said. "At halftime I told them, 'You’ve got to play in all of the conditions.' I tell the guys all the time, 'You’ve got to play better than the conditions allow you to play.' "
After making some adjustments in the second half, St. Thomas More (8-6-5) did a good job of controlling the ball and the tempo of the game.
"We went to three in the back and we strengthened our midfield a little bit, made some personnel adjustments," St. Thomas More coach Kevin Mooney said. It kind of helped out to an extent. I really felt like most of the second half was in our favor.
"The kids played well. We were a little bit more relaxed in the second half and actually knocked the ball around a little nit more than what we did in the first half. We were running a flat-four in the first half, and we got caught running too flat at times."
Mooney also felt like losing a lot of balls in the air contributed to his team’s loss.
"Really they beat us with balls in the air," he said. "That’s where we lost a lot of the game, balls in the air. We got to be strong in the air … and also attacking and defending. One thing about Vandy is, if you make mistakes, you will pay the price for them."
