Varsity Tennis Try-outs
Tues., January 26 and Wed., January 27
from 4 p.m.-5:30 p.m. at Metairie Country Club.
Varsity Track and Field Try-outs
Wed., January 27 and Fri., January 29 at the Sacred Heart track and Benson Field.
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Soccer
This past week was one of new beginnings for the varsity soccer team, a new season if you will. That new season started at Christ Episcopal. We had a great warmup, and we came out flying. We controlled possession from the jump, moving on and off the ball beautifully. We created multiple scoring chances, actually hitting the post four times in first half alone, but finally hammered one home off a corner by Gabby Thibodaux ’21 and headed in by Cat Bonura ’22. In the second half, it was more of the same as we continued to control possession and the game. With Martha Hammet ’23 scoring two second half goals, the Cardinals ended the match with a comfortable 3-0 win.
Our second of three matches last week put us at home this time against a good Country Day team. Once again, we reiterated the “new season” mentality. The game against Country Day was almost a carbon copy of the one just played on Monday. We dominated possession and created many scoring chances, but this time filled the net with two first half goals, the first by CC Johnson ’23 and the second by Carolina Mehaffie ’24, both assisted by Sinclair Nolan ’23. After going into halftime with a 2-0 lead, the Cardinals continued their strong play, and Martha Hammet ’23 put the game away by scoring from a screamer of a shot off her right foot. The game ended 3-0, another dominant win for our “new season.” So on to the next, which meant hosting our biggest rival — Newman.
We went into the Newman game feeling very confident. However, Newman’s strikers have speed, and their game plan was simple: long through balls to those players. While we were prepared for their speed, actually defending it proved to be difficult. The first half was overall evenly matched. They created chances for their strikers while we were generally strong with ball possession. Early on, we created a fantastic chance on goal with Martha Hammet ’23 knocking one off the crossbar. Ultimately Newman struck first with a shot that keeper Daisy Mooney ’23 saved, but we were unable to clear the ball, and Newman put it in the net. Near the end of the first half, CC Johnson ’23 headed the ball to Carolina Mehaffie ’24 who then slotted the equalizer past the Newman keeper into their net. A back and forth first half ended 1-1. In the second half, Newman’s halftime adjustments proved beneficial, and we did not adapt to their increased pressure. They pressed us, and we failed to maintain possession. Then after a highly questionable foul call where no contact was made by our defender, Newman scored on a free kick that changed the rest of the game. Ultimately, we fell to Newman 3-1, and while the girls were very disappointed, they also knew that we can compete with the 5th-ranked Greenies and hope for another opportunity in the playoffs.
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Basketball
A Wednesday contest against Hannan was the only game on the schedule for the JV basketball squad this week. The group came out strong with a 9-6 lead at the half. Despite efficient ball movement and great rebounding by the Cardinals, the Hawks went on a third quarter run, building up a lead that the Cardinals were not able to catch up, ending up just one point short of victory. Natalia Mehaffie ’25 led all scorers with six, while Bria Egana ’25 and Taylor Robert ’25 each dropped five. Mallory Medo ’23 ran a strong offense and led on defense, preventing the Hawks from scoring any easy fast break points.
The varsity basketball team faced a pair of tough opponents this season. In their Wednesday contest, they faced a strong Hannan team. While Hannan built up a commanding lead in the first half, the Cardinals improved their play in the second half, though it was not enough to prevail. Adriana Mehaffie ’21 led the team with eleven rebounds, and Izabella Erazo ’22, May Manning ’21, and Mehaffie each contributed four points.
The Cardinals next traveled to the Westbank for a game against the Academy of Our Lady. Fueled solely by a pair of outside shooters, the Penguins started strong with a number of 3-point scores and a quick transition offense. Once the Cardinals began to break the Penguins’ press and limit their transition scoring, they were able to begin chipping away at AOL’s lead. Elizabeth Brooks ’21 led the comeback in the second half, scoring six. Leah Goody ’21 ignited a spark on defense, shutting out the opponent’s best shooter throughout the second half.
The Cardinals are looking forward to their Senior Night tonight and then beginning the district portion of their schedule.
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Prep Soccer
In the last regular season game of the 7/8th grade soccer season, the White team played Country Day 7/8 at City Park. The White team focused on connecting their passes and moving the ball down the field. It was rewarding to see the amount of improvement this team has made during this very short season. Cece Pinkerton ’26 made some gutsy saves on very skilled shots made by a very experienced MPCDS player. In the midfield, Elodie Scafidel ’26 and Meredith Cortez ’26 worked hard to get our offense going but also get back and defend when needed. Although this game was a loss, it was great to hear the girls talking, calling for the ball, and working together as a team.
The 7/8th Grade White team made it to the playoffs, but were eliminated in the first round. They played a very tough Trinity team. Sophie Lo ’26 arrived with a fire and played her heart out. She left it all on the field. Sophie Lo was able to get the game moving on offense, but also able to track back and help our defense. The defensive line of Cecilia Ryan ’25 , Marin Major ’25, Zoe Sofranko ’26 and Sofia Sercovich ’26 were able to set several offside traps that created possession turnovers in their favor. Libby Stassi ’26, Kate Cummings ’26, and Eileen Igoe ’25 were able to create some attacks, but the Trinity back line was just too tough to break through. All in all it was a great season of learning with tremendous development in a very short season.
On Tuesday, the 7th/8th Red Team played McGehee Gray in a league game with playoff seeding on the line. McGehee had only 10 players, and the Red Team coach elected to play with 10 players as well. The Red Team played well and controlled possession. Mary Avery Pinkerton ’26 led the way scoring the first two goals, and Eleanor Erazo-Pierson ’26 scored the final goal of the 3-0 victory.
On Thursday, the 7th/8th Red Team played Trinity in their final league game, a game between two top teams and with playoff seeding on the line again. Mary Avery Pinkerton ’26 again got the Red Team off to a 1-0 lead, but later in the 1st half, Trinity scored on a ball the Red Team could not successfully clear from its defensive area. The Red had their chances, too, including a cross that a number of our players were close to but couldn’t quite touch. The Cardinals ended with a 1-1 tie against Trinity.
On Saturday, the 7th/8th Red Team played McGehee Gray in a NOAL League playoff game at Tad Gormley Stadium. The girls had a beautiful build up of passes to start the game that ended in a Sally Irwin ’26 goal one minute into the game. The Red Team kept up the pressure in the 1st half and had unfortunate luck on a number of shots, including Vivian Real’s ’26 shot on a break away that hit the two opposite posts but was ruled not to have crossed the goal line. In the 2nd half, McGehee began getting more possession and shots. Although many of the McGehee shots were from long range, a few shots came from closer. The Red Team led by their goalie, Ellie Habetz ’26, and their backline of Bradlee Gross ’25, Emily Guider ’26, Charlotte Johnston ’26, and Lily Rosenstein ’26 rising to the occasion and stopping McGehee’s offense short of a goal. The Red Team advanced to the next round of the playoffs by a score of 1-0.
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Prep Basketball
The Middle School basketball teams had a busy week with 5th/6th grade team playing two games, and the 7th/8th grade team hosting games on three consecutive days.
The Sacred Heart 5th/6th basketball fell 17-14 to the ladies of Country Day on 1.19.21. The Cardinals got off to a rocky start in the first half, only scoring 2 points and giving up 12. After a spirited speech from Coach Ben, the team came out with defense on their mind. Caroline Balart ’27, Lily Varisco ’27 and Rosie Varisco ’28 were ballhawks, turning their defense into offense and accounting for 12 Cardinal points. Elizabeth Alford ’27 and Camille Tyler ’27 pulled down numerous rebounds, both offensively and defensively. However, costly turnovers and missed easy buckets were the deciding factor in this game. Next up is St. Andrew’s Episcopal.
The 5th/6th grade team hosted St. Andrew’s last Friday. The team played inspired basketball throughout the game, winning 27-8. Lily Varisco ’27 exploded offensively scoring 11 points and dishing out 3 assists. Also scoring for Sacred Heart was Rosie Varisco ’28 with 6 points, highlighted by two free throw swishes in the 4th quarter. Caroline Balart ’27 scored 4 points going 2-2 from the free throw line. The magical moment of the game came from Maddie McNabb ’28, who took a pass in the face, regathered the ball, fought through the pain, and calmly scored her first 2 points of the season. The fans and the bench erupted with joy celebrating Maddie’s toughness!
The team is the top seed in the NOAL championship this week, playing the winner of the Christian Brothers vs. Trinity on Wednesday in the Rosary Gym.
The 7th/8th grade team hosted Country Day last Wednesday winning, 24-10. Leah Varisco ’26 had a dominant offensive performance with 16 points. Sally Irwin ’26, Evy Lauscha ’26, Lily Rosenstein ’26 and Eleanor Erazo-Pierson ’26 played fantastic defense and dominated the offensive and defensive boards for the Cardinals. Next up were the Louise McGehee Hawks. Again, the team played well and came out victorious, 21-6. Lily Rosenstein ’26 paced the balanced scoring attack with 8 points, followed by Sophie Lo ’26 with 6 points. Scoring two points were Evy Lauscha ’26 and Avery Cheatham ’26. Audrey Finch ’26 made her first free throw of the season in the 4th quarter. The Cardinals welcomed the St. Andrew’s Cardinals to the Rosary gym last Friday. St. Andrew’s proved to be a formidable opponent as they were tall, talented and played great defense. Sacred Heart ultimately won the game, 15-8. Sophie Lo ’26 scored five points, highlighted by a long rainbow 3 pointer in the first quarter. Sally Irwin ’26 chipped in with 4 points and pulled down 10 rebounds. Jane Farnsworth ’26, Abby Truxillo ’26 and Christen Scott ’26 played tough defense throughout the game. The final regular season game is today at home vs. Dominican. The NOAL playoffs are scheduled to begin the week of February 1st.
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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 26
4:00 p.m.
7th/8th Basketball vs. Domincan @ Rosary Gym
5:00 p.m.
Varsity Basketball vs. McGehee @ Rosary Gym
** Senior Night
Wed., Jan 27
4:00 p.m.
7th/8th Red Soccer vs. Newman 8th (NOAL Finals)
4:00 p.m.
5th/6th Basketball vs TBD @ Rosary Gym (NOAL Semi-Finals)
Thur., Jan 28
5:00 p.m.
Varsity Basketball vs. Ursuline @ Ursuline
6:00 p.m.
Varsity Soccer vs AOL @ Pan Am
** Senior Night
Fri., Jan 29
4:00 p.m.
5th/6th Basketball vs. TBD @ Rosary Gym (NOAL Finals)
**-only if team wins Wednesday
Sat., Jan 30
10:00 a.m.
Varsity Soccer vs. McGehee @ Pan Am
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Interested in becoming a member of our Athletic Booster Club? Learn more here.
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