Visitation rallies to win state
David Carson/Post-Dispatch | Visitation players rush to the field as time expires in their 5-3 victory over Notre Dame at Anheuser-Busch Center on Saturday.
FENTON — Don’t change a thing.
That was the message Visitation Academy soccer coach Dick Westbrook had for his team as it went to halftime of the Class 2 championship game Saturday afternoon at Anheuser-Busch Center trailing Notre Dame by a goal.
“I told them that we were playing great and that they were doing exactly what we wanted them to do,” Westbrook said. “I told them to just keep attacking the wings and to keep playing our game.”
Scoring four second-half goals, the Vivettes (19-7) came away with an action-packed 5-3 victory over the Rebels (21-7-1) in an all-St. Louis title game.
“I feel for (Notre Dame); I know going through overtime and penalty kicks yesterday had to take a toll,” Westbrook said. “But I’m just so proud of our girls and what they were able to accomplish.”
The Vivettes’ Ellie Bumb broke a 3-3 tie when she scored with 10½ minutes to play, converting from the top of the box after receiving a pass from Heidi Press.
“Heidi did a great job of getting me the ball,” said Bumb, who scored her third goal of the season. “I took a touch and focused on getting the shot on goal.”
Freshman Jade Klump added an insurance goal with 2:25 left, securing the Vivettes’ third state soccer title.
The Rebels, who outlasted Notre Dame de Sion 2-1 Friday in a penalty-kick shootout that was decided in the 11th round, jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead as Michelle Auer buried a 40-yard blast about 10 minutes in and Devin Dreste followed up with a goal off a Jessica Bayens’ corner.
Viz managed to get a goal back midway through the half on a 30-yarder from Lydia Harlan.
“That was the turning point,” Westbrook said. “Lydia’s goal, especially on such a great shot, helped get us right back into the game.”
The Vivettes erased a 2-1 halftime deficit with goals from Courtney Young and Klump during a span of 66 seconds early in the second half.
But Notre Dame tied it midway through the period when a Liz Flowers shot eluded Visitation keeper Kaitlyn Deister.
“We never got down, even when it was 2-0,” Bumb said. “We just kept telling each other that we couldn’t quit, that if we kept pushing, we’d find a way.”
Saturday marked the fourth consecutive top-four finish for Notre Dame; the Rebels, who also took second in 2008, were third in 2007 and fourth in 2009.
“Going through overtime yesterday took a lot out of us physically, but a game like that also takes a lot from you emotionally,” Notre Dame coach Jeff Robben said. “But I’m really proud of the way our girls battled today.”
