Soccer Team in LHSAA Championships on Wednesday
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The Varsity soccer team will compete for the LHSAA Division IV state championship vs. Isidore Newman on Wednesday, February 24 at 4:30 p.m. at Strawberry Stadium on the campus of Southeastern University. If you are interested in attending the game, the ticket link is below.
If you want to watch the game online go to:
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Varsity Golf Try-outs (7th grade-12th grade)
Wednesday, February 24 from 3 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Try-outs will be held at the Benson Field/Putting Green (on campus). If you have any questions, please contact Head Coach Jenny Caro at [email protected]
Middle School Spring Sport Update
Middle school sports begin this week:
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Track: First practice is this afternoon - Tuesday, February 23 (3:45 - 4:45 p.m.), with practices on Tuesdays and Thursdays at Benson Field on campus.
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Softball: First practice is Wednesday, February 24 at the Fly (3:30 - 5 p.m.), and going forward will take place on Monday (4-5:30 p.m.) and Wednesdays (3:30 - 5) at "The Fly."
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Tennis: First practice is Thursday, February 25 (4-5 p.m.), with practices on Tuesdays and Thursdays at City Park.
We have a large turn-out for Tennis and Softball this spring. Due to COVID-related transportation restrictions, we are unable to provide transportation for everyone to “the Fly” for softball or to City Park for Tennis. Therefore, we will need parents to assist with transportation to/from practice and competition venues.
If your daughter did not sign-up in P.E. class for spring sports, not to worry! Just have her show up at the first practice.
Any questions regarding Softball or Tennis, contact Director of Athletics, Sue Bower at [email protected].
Any questions regarding Track and Field, contact Head Track and Field Coach, Kristen Bendich at [email protected].
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Middle School Basketball/Soccer Uniform Return
If you were unable to attend the Pizza Party on Thursday, February 11, please have your daughter drop off her basketball or soccer uniform to Director of Athletics, Sue Bower, in the Rosary Gym.
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Basketball
Both the JV and Varsity Basketball teams each ended their seasons with a busy week of three games in four days.
JV began the week with back-to-back games on Monday and Tuesday. On Monday, against Haynes, the Cardinals were able to end the first quarter with a small lead, but Haynes came back in the second quarter to open up an insurmountable lead. Taylor Robert ’25 led all scorers with 6 points, and Mallory Medo ’23 contributed 5. The Cardinals faced the Mount Carmel Cubs on Tuesday; while the Cardinals came out with strong defense, holding the Cubs to only 11 in the first half, they could not score enough to keep up with the fast pace of the Cubs’ offense. Ellie Bendich ’24 played strong defense and proved to be a strong presence under the basket.
The JV squad closed out the season with their best game yet against McGehee. Although the Cardinals offense got off to a slow start, strong defense kept the game very close. In the first half, neither team had more than a three point lead. Coming out after halftime, the Cardinals began to pick apart the Hawks’ zone and opened up a ten point lead that proved insurmountable for McGehee, with Sacred Heart winning 21-13. The Cardinals were led by their two starting post players. Bria Egana ’25 led all scorers and recorded her first double-double of the season, with 11 points and 10 rebounds. Natalia Mehaffie ’25 also grabbed 10 rebounds and led the team with strong, vocal, aggressive defense.
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The varsity team began their week with a home game against Haynes Academy. Despite the Yellow Jackets’ fast start, the Cardinals came back with a strong second quarter, going into the half only down six. Sacred Heart played tough defense, but in spite of their efforts, the Cardinals were not able to overcome the first half deficit. May Manning ’21 recorded a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds, and Adriana Mehaffie ’21 controlled the paint, pulling down 12 rebounds and drawing six fouls on the Yellow Jacket post players.
On Wednesday, the varsity Cardinals traveled across the foggy Causeway for a game at St. Scholastica for a rematch of the battle of the birds. The Doves went out to an early lead with some key outside shots, but as the Cardinals began to move the ball quickly and attack the basket, they were able to poke holes in the Doves’ zone. Unfortunately, Scholastica’s outside shooting proved too much for the Cardinals, with Sacred Heart dropping another hard-fought game. Lindsey Magaw ’21 led Sacred Heart with 9 points, and Kate Ready ’22 led the team on defense, showing aggression and persistence that limited Scholastica’s scoring opportunities in the final quarter.
Kenner Discovery traveled to the Rosary Gym for the varsity squad’s season finale. The Cardinals came out strong, with a powerful offense led by Magaw and Lillian Balart ’22, who scored six in the game. Sacred Heart’s quick ball movement and rebounding gave them a six point advantage going into the half. In the second half, the Swamp Owls began to hit more outside shots, coming back with a key third quarter run, building a lead the Cardinals were not able to take back. Lindsey Magaw ’21 had a double-double with 10 points and 15 rebounds and shooting 100% from the free-throw line. Leah Goody ’21 led an intense, aggressive defense contributing seven deflected passes.
Seniors, thank you for your leadership and contributions to the basketball program—we will miss you so much next year! And congratulations, to all of our basketball Cardinals on a great season! We are so proud of you!
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Soccer
On Saturday, February 13th we had our Quarter Final match against #2 Houma Christian. They had beaten us last season 2-1 and also early this season 1-0, so we knew we had our work cut out for us. With the temperature around 45 with a wind chill of 35, we were not only going to have to fight a very good team, but the elements as well. Soon after the opening whistle after our unfortunate penalty in the box, Houma Christian got a penalty kick which would lead to our first deficit in the playoffs, putting us behind 0-1 after the first five minutes. However, the team stayed calm, and we worked very hard to keep possession. In the 20th minute, off a perfect corner kick by Gabby Thibodoux ’21, CC Johnson ’23 headed the ball into the left upper corner of the goal tying the match 1-1. After a few more Cardinal opportunities, including a shot by Carolina Mehaffie ’24 that was literally cleared off the goal line by Houma Christian, we ended the first half 1-1.
The second half offered both teams opportunities to score, but the match was tied at 1-1 at the end of regulation, and we went into overtime consisting of two 10-minute non sudden-death halves. We remained tied through the first half, and in the final minute of the second overtime, Martha Hammet ’23 played a beautifully weighted ball to striker Sinclair Nolan ’23 who split the Houma Christian defense and struck a strong shot which the goalkeeper deflected to give the Cardinals a corner. Sinclair Nolan ’23 took the ball over to the corner flag. After setting the ball down where she wanted it and raising her hand, she served a gorgeous looping ball into the box, where CC Johnson ’23 split two defenders and headed the ball home into the top corner of the net for the 2-1 victory. A glorious goal and a dramatic victory that enabled #10 Sacred Heart to upset #2 Houma Christian. By winning 8 of our last 9 games, we would advance to the semifinals to face #6 Catholic New Iberia.
Just six days after the victory over Houma Christian, the #10 Cardinals made the journey to New Iberia for their semifinal match against the #6 Catholic High NI Panthers. With freezing temperatures, no overtime would be required for this game. Catholic High's first goal in the first two minutes of the game energized our team; it didn’t take long for Carolina Mehaffie ’24 to make a great run of her own, leveling the game 1-1. After the Panthers' next goal, the Cardinals responded with a beautifully weighted through ball from Olivia McGoey ’21 to a streaking Carolina Mehaffie ’24 who crossed the ball into the box and was hammered home by Gabby Thibodoux ’21. Tied again 2-2. Then with only a few minutes left in the first half, the Cardinals took their first lead of the game from a corner by Martha Hammet ’23 that was headed home from CC Johnson ’23 for CC’s incredible third score via header in the last game and a half. At the half: 3-2 Sacred Heart.
We kept our momentum strong in the second half. Just seven minutes into the second half, Martha Hammet ’23 found the back of the net from thirty yards out with a shot to put Sacred Heart up 4-2, which would remain the final score. Once the referee’s whistle marked the end of the game, the Cardinals charged the field, celebrating their semifinals win with their teammates and a berth in the State Championship Finals! That final match will be played Wednesday February 24th at 4:30 p.m. against our New Orleans rival, Isidore Newman. It is impossible to truly put into words how proud we are of these amazing young women! Congratulations Ladies!!!!
Next week: A very special Cardinal’s Corner. A Look Back: where we started and how far we have come plus, The Division IV State Championship Finals: #1 Newman vs #10 Academy of Sacred Heart.
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Indoor Track
When it comes to trying to perform at your best of the season, you want it to be at the State Championship Meet, and on Sunday, February 21, the best of Louisiana's High School Girls and Boys that qualified were given that opportunity. At the Carl Maddox Fieldhouse on the campus of L.S.U., the two athletes from the Academy of the Sacred Heart that qualified in their respective events were Mykhala Coleman ’21 in the Shot Put and Leah Varisco ’26 in the 3200 Meters, the equivalent of 2 miles. Although these two events are on completely opposite sides of the spectrum, both athletes had the same goal in mind, to represent their school and teammates the best that they could. The end result was exactly that.
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Mykhala went into the meet ranked as the #1 thrower in the Division II competition and with that comes the added pressure of living up to that ranking. She had 6 attempts total on this day as did the other 6 competitors that made it to the final round. Her toss of 37'00.25" placed her 2nd going into her final 3 attempts of the competition behind another thrower that threw a 3 1/2 foot personal record of 41' 5.75" on her very 1st toss. Mykhala's final three shot puts all fell short of the leader, and another thrower bettered her best toss by 3.50 inches, moving Mykhala into the 3rd spot, where she would finish her senior Indoor season on the podium. A great short season that leaves her hungry for the upcoming Outdoor season which starts next Saturday. She will be ready to continue her dominance as one of Louisiana's premier athletes in the Shot Put.
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Next up was Leah Varisco ’26, in her rookie campaign as a member of the varsity running program. Two added weeks of pace training and some rest had hopefully prepared her for the 3200 Meter final in Division II, which includes 11 other qualifiers from classes 3A, 2A, 1A, B & C. The plan was for Leah to go just a little slower in the first two laps of the 16 total in order to control her on pace during the entirety of the race. She entered the race ranked 11th out of the 12, but we both felt that she could improve greatly on that if she could follow the script of properly pacing herself at her desired pace of 22.5 seconds, which would calculate to a 12 minute 3200 meters. Once inside, this 7th grader, the youngest runner in the field jogged to the starting line with the other competitors, she was hard to spot because of the size differences in height.
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As the gun went off to start the race, all bets were off on what a runner had done in previous qualifying races. Leah followed the plan perfectly lap after lap and came through the first 800 meters in 2:57.95 and was in the 10th spot. As she continued around the 200 meter oval for 4 more laps, those runners that spent too much energy in their first 1600, Leah passed 3 more runners and was now in 7th place while coming through her 1600 meters in 6:05. She continued her pacing and moved into 6th place with 4 laps remaining and then when two other runners attempted to pass her with 2 laps to go, she opened her stride and pushed ahead and separated herself over the last lap to finish with an amazing last 200 sprint of 38 seconds and crossed the finish line in 6th place with a time of 12:20, a new personal record for her by 14 seconds and earned All-State honors in doing so.
It was a wonderful finish to a successful day for the Indoor Track & Field team, and we are very proud of how Mykhala and Leah performed in their events.
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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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Wed., Feb 24
4:30 p.m.
Varsity Soccer vs. Isidore Newman @ Southeastern University
(LHSAA Championship game)
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Interested in becoming a member of our Athletic Booster Club? Learn more here.
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