Middle School Team Shop
Purchase Middle School sports t-shirts here. The deadline for purchases is Friday, March 5th.
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Middle School Spring Sport Practice Times
Track: Tuesday/Thursday from 3:45-4:45 p.m. at Benson Field.
Softball: Monday from 4-5:30 p.m. and Wednesday 3:30-5 p.m. at Carrollton.
Tennis: Tuesday/Thursday from 4-5 p.m. 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.
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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Soccer
Congratulations to the Sacred Heart soccer team for an incredible season! By now, most of you know that we lost a heartbreaking game in penalty kicks in the state finals to our rival, Isidore Newman. However, just getting there was quite a journey. Starting the season off 0-4 with a collective goal differential of -12 (0 goals for/12 allowed), the coaching staff spent three days redesigning our formation and style of play. After one day of training with the new system, we tied our first game! With injuries and player availability, we hit mid January playing better but still getting few wins due to a difficult schedule. By that point, we were technically out playing and possessing our opponents, but we still had to put in the hard work on the training ground. From January 15 - February 19, our record was 9-1 taking us to an overall record of 11-9-1. We entered the playoffs as the #10 seed and faced #23, #7, #2 and #6 seeds, winning them all. And with that final win vs #6 Catholic High NI in the semifinals, we advanced to the Division IV State Championship Finals vs the reigning state champions and the #1 seed Isidore Newman School. If you were making a movie, you couldn’t have scripted it any better.
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This was a game for the ages, where neither opponent was going to lose. Every player on the field gave everything they physically and mentally could give in this game. Neither side could break the other: 0-0 at the end of the game; 0-0 at the end of the first overtime; 0-0 at the end of the second sudden death overtime. And then we fell in penalty kicks: 4-5. Every player for the Cardinals gave an incredible performance. One stood out as a once in a lifetime performance, a performance of her career. Keeper Cat Bonura ’22 played an incredible game and won the Finals MVP. Not only is that an incredible accomplishment, but to win the Finals MVP on the losing team — this was only the second time in LHSAA girls soccer history in any division and an unbelievable honor. Even though we fell short, these Cardinals were never beaten. We lost the final on penalty kicks, but after 110 minutes of soccer and 5 penalty kicks, the heavily favored Greenies could not put us away. Only in the sixth penalty kick did we fall in an amazing game that will be long remembered by everyone involved. The strength, drive and unity of this team were the source of this amazing playoff run. As coaches, it would be impossible for us to be more proud of this group of talented and special young ladies. They played with the heart of a lion, the heart of a champion but most importantly, the heart of a Cardinal.
Thank you senior captains #1 Caroline Evans, #3 Gabby Thibodaux, #4 Katie Paige Gardes, and #7 Olivia McGoey. Your leadership on this team was second to none and the reason we stayed strong, focused and unified and never wavered. Also many thanks to our amazing senior managers Isabel Evans and Grace Moriarty who took care of everything including our snacking and musical needs. Thank you to the parents for everything you did for us! Thank you fans and students for the incredible atmosphere during the finals! Your support was absolutely electric and fueled us on! Thank you Sacred Heart for your support and all athletics and of course, to Sue Bower for her undying support and belief in this program. The bar is set high for next year, but with such a talented group of players returning we are already excited for next season!
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Tennis
The varsity tennis team had an eventful season opening, last week. For the first time in Sacred Heart tennis history, a red team and a white team traveled to the McGill-Toolen Invitational, a two day tennis tournament in Mobile, Alabama with schools from all over the gulf south. Red team members were Olivia Boyd ʼ22, Mariella Congeni ʼ23, Virginia Crocker ʼ25, Elizabeth Maniscalco ʼ21, May Manning ʼ21, and Sofia Rodriguez ʼ23. The red team entered into the highest level bracket with extremely tough competition. The Cardinals’ red team beat Northridge High School from Tuscaloosa (defending Alabama state runner-up) in the first round, and then faced the number one seed and winner of the entire tournament, St. Paul’s Episcopal from Mobile. The doubles team of Mariella Congeni ʼ23 and Virginia Crocker ʼ25 took down St. Paul’s very seasoned line one team 8-6, and Mariella Congeni ʼ23 won her singles line but unfortunately the rest of the matches didn’t go our way, knocking the red team out of the main draw. The red team ended up losing a very close match in the next round (4-5), but won their last round against Pensacola Catholic with a convincing 7-2 victory. The red team Cardinals ended up in 7th place overall in a very stacked 16 team division.
The white team, led by senior veterans, Grace Evans ʼ21, Gracie Jenkins ʼ21 and Julia Gele ʼ21, dominated their competition. Several of our white team players had not had much high school tennis match competition before this point, and all of them had several wins over the weekend. The doubles duo of Grace Evans ʼ21 and Gracie Jenkins ʼ21 had an impressive come-back win in the championship match against Florida’s Gulf Breeze High School’s line one team to put up another victory for the team count. Under the moonlight and court lights Friday night, Julia Gele ʼ21 was down 4-7 and fought off multiple match points to win in a tie-breaker 9-8 to clinch the semi-finals victory for the white team. Ella Frischhertz ʼ23, Charlotte Johnston ʼ26, Emmeline Singer ʼ26, Cat Bonura ʼ22, and Maria English ʼ24 all played great and fought hard, winning many of their matches and with true team effort, impressively won the entire bracket to bring home the championship trophy for Sacred Heart.
Overall, the Cardinal’s first McGill-Toolen Invitational experience was extremely positive, and the team looks forward to going back next year.
Last week, the Cardinals also competed in their regular season opener against McGehee at City Park. The Cardinals won 4-1, with a dominant showing by Sofia Rodriguez ʼ23, beating her singles opponent 6-0,6-0 and a win for the brand new doubles team of Emmeline Singer ʼ26 (first varsity appearance) and Maria English ʼ24. May Manning ʼ21 and Elizabeth Maniscalco ʼ21 also beat McGehee’s line 1 doubles team. Tennis Cardinals are off to an amazing start!
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(Masks were briefly removed for a pictures, taken in well under 30 seconds and in accordance with LHSAA guidelines.)
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Booster Club Promotes Cardinal Spirit with Yard Signs
Thank you to the Academy of the Sacred Heart Booster Club for providing yard signs for all sports. Thanks to these efforts, when driving through various neighborhoods of the city it is hard to miss the presence of ASH. Don’t worry golf and outdoor track - your signs are on the way.
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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., Mar. 3
4:00 p.m.
Varsity Tennis vs Dominican at City Park
Fri., Mar. 5
4:00 p.m.
Patrick Ruth Relays @ Yenni Stadium, East Jefferson High School
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Interested in becoming a member of our Athletic Booster Club? Learn more here.
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