Soccer
The ASH Varsity soccer team players were back on the pitch last Tuesday with every intent on getting our mojo back. Playing Thomas Jefferson HS was just what we needed. On the bus ride to the stadium, the girls were surprised by some very special good luck cards from the Sacred Heart First Graders that truly touched and inspired the team!
We knew this was going to be a great match, and it was, as we came out flying and took early control of the game. We possessed the ball beautifully and put our opponent under extreme pressure. Controlling the game and possession from start to finish, ASH scored five goals to win the game 5-0. Goals came from Charlotte Bush ’25, Caroline Babin ’23 and two goals from Gabby Thibodaux ’21. The fifth and final goal was by Cat Bonura ’22, who realized her dream of scoring a goal from a header. Every player saw the pitch, and every player played great! A true team performance, and thank you First Graders for the awesome cards!!!
Then just two days later, we were back on the road for a rematch against St. Amant, the team that had just beaten us 5-1 a week earlier. In the first match, we played well but just had a few defensive breakdowns. We spent all practice Wednesday preparing for this game and during that session, sadly we lost Captain/defender Caroline Evans ’21 for the season to an injury. Dedicating the game to Caroline, we showed up at St. Amant loose, confident and ready to play. The Cardinals came out fast, but unfortunately, a poor clearance led to a very early scoring chance for St. Amant, who put it into our net. It was at this point in the game, giving up such an early goal, where we could have easily just folded up our tent. Instead, the Cardinals took over the game, holding possession easily 70/30, which is an incredible accomplishment given the strong competition. As the game wore on, we got stronger creating more and more scoring opportunities, including a shot off the post. At the end of the day, we lost the game 1-0. But considering the improvement from the previous game a week earlier, it was truly a win. We played by far the best game of the season, and quite possibly one of the best games that I’ve seen by Sacred Heart in a while. Our possession, toughness, speed of play and creativity was second to none. A fantastic performance, just an unfortunate result.
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Basketball
The Cardinals began the week with a trip down south to face Houma Christian. The Varsity squad started strong, building a 19-7 lead by the end of the first half. Though the Warriors attempted to mount a comeback in the second half, the Cardinals defense, led by May Manning ’21 with seven steals, prevented them from ever taking over the lead, and the Cardinals prevailed 31-28. Lindsey Magaw ’21 led the Cardinals’ scoring with 11 points.
The JV squad was in action this week in a midweek matchup with Chapelle. While falling behind in the first half, the Cardinals mounted a strong comeback in the second half, outscoring their opponents 9-6, led by Taylor Robert ’25 with six points. Bria Egana ’25 and Natalia Mehaffie ’25 controlled the paint, pulling down a number of key rebounds. Unfortunately, however, the Cardinals could not overcome the deficit from the first half and lost a close one.
The Varsity Cardinals team followed the JV with a match with Riverdale. The Cardinals played a complete game, outscoring their opponent in each quarter. The varsity squad took full advantage of fast breaks and allowing their opponent very few easy scoring opportunities. Eventually the Cardinals emerged victorious with a commanding 45-25 win. Elizabeth Brooks ’21 led a strong offensive effort with 12 points, including two key shots from beyond the 3-point arc. Lillian Balart ’22 and Lindsey Magaw ’21 each contributed eight. Leah Goody ’21 led the defensive effort, putting tremendous pressure on Riverdale's point guards, causing a number of key turnovers, and Adriana Mehaffie ’21 led all rebounders with seven.
For the final game of the week, the Cardinals traveled to Jefferson Avenue to face Newman for the second time this season. Despite a slow start, the Cardinals began to establish a defensive rhythm; the Cardinals successfully eliminated many of the Greenies’ fast break opportunities and gave up very few easy shots, a great improvement from their earlier meeting with Newman in December. Izabella Erazo ’22 and Adriana Mehaffie ’21 allowed the Greenies very few easy scoring opportunities in the paint, and Mehaffie pulled down 11 rebounds. Despite their hustle and tenacity, Cardinals were unable to prevail.
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Prep Soccer
The 5/6 grade teams had a double header on Friday that proved to be an exciting evening of soccer! The Red Team played first against a tough Country Day team. In the first half, Charlotte Champagne ’27 put the Cardinals on the board early in the game with a fantastic goal. Caroline Kenter ’27 added a second goal a few minutes later, and the Cardinals went into halftime with a 2-0 lead. Country Day came out hungry in the second half and added two goals of their own to tie the game 2-2. Then, with seconds remaining, Country Day got a break away that could have changed the outcome of the game. However, Emma Clasen ’28 took a knock to stop the score, heroically ending the game 2-2.
The 5/6 White Team stepped up next to play, despite the cold windy conditions, against Newman. Colette English ’27 led the charge and after a long scoreless stretch, put the Cardinals on the board just before halftime. In the second half, the Cardinals fought a close battle until Lily Varisco ’27 sealed the win with a second goal, giving the Cardinals a great 2-0 victory!
The Middle School 7/8 White Soccer team played two tough Newman teams last week on back to back days. Although neither game ended in a result in favor of the Cardinals, much improvement has been seen. The team has been working on their passing and first touch and it is starting to come together.
On Saturday morning, the Middle School White Soccer team was victorious over McGehee with a score of 3-1 at Pan Am stadium. With teamwork, controlled passing, and great defensive plays, the White Team was able to control the game against the Hawks. The girls played well as a team and finished strong. Goals were scored by Meredith Cortez ’26 and Sophie Lo ’26, and goalkeeper Cece Pinkerton ’26 had some amazing saves. With every practice and game, these girls are working hard on their skills and soccer knowledge and it shows. These Cardinals have a bright future at Sacred Heart.
The 7th/8th Red Team stepped out of the NOAL League for a Christmas Break game against Mount Carmel Academy's 8th grade team. The girls started very well with Vivian Real ’26 scoring a gorgeous off-footed (left foot) goal. Leah Varisco ’26 had a beautiful assist on another Vivian Real goal, and Leah slotted her own goal into the net as well. In the second half, as in a previous game, the girls pivoted to playing exclusively with their off foot, and they passed extremely well. During the second half, Sally Irwin ’26, in her first game this year, made her presence felt with a long-range off foot goal, and both Eleanor Erazo-Pierson ’26 and Vivian Real had many well struck off footed shots. The Red Team would have had more goals but for the numerous diving saves, some fingertip saves, by the Mount Carmel keeper. The Red Team's own defense led by Bradlee Gross ’25, Emily Guider ’26, and Charlotte Johnston ’26 kept Mount Carmel from taking a shot so neither ASH keeper, Ellie Habetz ’26 and Cece Pinkerton, had to save a shot on goal during this 4-0 win for the Red Team.
The Red Team played McGehee Red on Thursday and saw a strong effort from many players. The Red Team started strong with first half goals by Sally Irwin, Mary Avery Pinkerton ’26, Vivian Real, Abby Truxillo ’26, and Leah Varisco. Then the team "inverted" and put defensive players at offensive positions in a second half that saw goals scored by the goalie, Ellie Habetz, center defenders Bradlee Gross and Emily Guider, and wing defender Charlotte Johnston. The Red Team won the game 9-0.
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Prep Basketball
Our 5th/6th basketball team took on Ursuline on 1/6/21 to kick the New Year off. The game was close throughout with no team proving to be overly dominant offensively and stifling defense on both sides. The game was decided with Ursuline scoring on a last minute rebound to win 15-13. Leading the scoring for the Cardinals were Caroline Balart ’27 and Lily Varisco ’27. The defensive effort was led by Teresa Vinas ’27 and Caroline Kenter ’27 who each had multiple steals. Sarah Wanek ’28 and Camille Tyler ’27 rebounded well against the extremely tall front line of Ursuline. The Cardinals are back in action next week against Kehoe France.
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Sacred Heart Continues Partnership with VSN
We are delighted to continue our partnership with Varsity Sports Now to broadcast all home soccer and basketball games this season. If interested, we ask that you sign up for a membership through the link below so that Sacred Heart Boosters will receive 50 percent of the fee which will go back to your daughter’s athletic experience! The membership is $9.99 a month, and this gives you access to all Sacred Heart games as well as many other local schools games that are also broadcast through VSN. You can view on your phone, laptop, iPad, or smart TV by downloading the app or visiting their website @ www.varsitysportsnow.com. This would also make the perfect gift for family and friends to be able to watch Sacred Heart soccer and basketball games.
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Don’t Forget to Join the Booster Club
Your membership provides opportunities for our Booster Club to enhance the athletic experience for each athlete. As a Booster Club member, there are also many opportunities throughout the year to volunteer to assist at athletic events. For more information about our Booster Club, please visit our website via the link below.
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Follow us for live scores and updates #GoCardinals
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Tues., Jan 12
5:30 p.m.
7th/8th Red Soccer @ Vandebilt Catholic
7:00 p.m.
Varsity Soccer vs. Ben Franklin @ Pan Am
Wed., Jan 13
3:30 p.m.
5th/6th Basketball @ Newman
4:00 p.m.
7th/8th White Soccer vs. Ursuline @ The Fly
6:30 p.m.
Varsity Basketball vs. Pope John Paul @ Rosary Gym
Thur., Jan 14
5:00 p.m.
Varsity Basketball vs. St. Scholastica @ Rosary Gym
Fri., Jan 15
5:00 p.m.
Varsity Soccer @ Fisher
Mon., Jan 18
6:00 p.m.
Varsity Soccer @ Christ Episcopal
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Interested in becoming a member of our Athletic Booster Club? Learn more here.
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