Rough start too much for Lourdes soccer team to overcome in state final loss

Lourdes Academy fell just a tad-bit short again.

Lourdes finished as the girls’ soccer state runners-up for the fourth time in the past five seasons after getting nipped 2-1 by defending state champion Ponte Vedra in the Class 5A state championship game on Saturday at Lake Myrtle Sports Complex.

Lourdes actually out-shot Ponte Vedra 8-6 but the Bobcats struggled to boot a ball into the back of the net.

“Honestly, I think we were much better (than Ponte Vedra),” Lourdes coach David Fique said. “They got the goal in the beginning of the game and I think it caught us off moment.

“We had chances to capitalize but there were a couple (of shots) that the keeper solved or it just went over the net. I believe we are the better team. But that’s how this sport works sometimes.”

Ponte Vedra jumped out to an early 1-0 lead less than two minutes into the game on a goal by sophomore forward Katie DeVincentis.

“But once we were down 1-0, we were climbing up a hill. Defensively, we just started putting out numbers. We changed formations but we just couldn’t (score) in the end,” Fique said.

The score stood until Ponte Vedra increased its lead to 2-0 at the 15:06 mark of the second half when sophomore defender Lulu Consuji unleashed a 40-yard shot that cleared the goalkeeper’s head and bounced around in the back of the net.

“We didn’t shut them down. We are just lucky that our goalkeeper played great,” Ponte Vedra coach David Silverberg said. “They were just sending balls in and it was just target practice. We were clearing it back to them and they were sending it right back in. When we score early, we tend to let our guard down and we never really got our legs back. But a win is a win.”

Trailing 2-0, Lourdes picked up its lone goal with 9:33 left in the game on a shot by Larne Cancio.

“I really thought that we were going to come back and win,” Canco said. “We’re usually down but we always come up on top. I really think we tried to push but I think today just wasn’t our day. I think everybody was looking for a shot.”

Lourdes loses five starters to graduation but Fique said the Bobcats are used to rebuilding and getting back to the state tournament.

“We will always try to rebuild and get back here,” he said. “We’ve always said Lourdes soccer is a family. Lourdes soccer is only something we can live and explain. This year we had nine freshmen that helped us out. We are hoping next year we can come back and do it again.”

Lourdes finished as 6A state runners-up in 2021, 2022 and 2023. The Bobcats also won state championships in 2018 (5A) and 2020 (6A).