St. Scholastica seniors Lainey Connell and Anna C. Schwing know what it takes to be successful on the soccer field.
The seniors knew that focus and intensity would be critical as the Doves opened District 5-I play against Slidell, a team that had won three straight matches, on Jan. 4.
The Doves, unbeaten in their last 11 matches, cruised to a 9-0 mercy-rule-shortened home victory.
"I'm proud of the way we kept up our intensity level despite the score," Schwing said. "We continued to rip shots on goal, spreading the ball around. Being a captain, I'm a better version of myself as a player. It instills more confidence in me, wanting to encourage my teammates, practicing and playing even harder, representing them."
Connell, who finished with two goals and an assist, said the Doves' first result of 2024 was a sign of growth.
"It shows we're a force across the field," Connell said. "Tonight's performance highlights that we're a cohesive team. I was proud of our total team effort, starting district with a big win."
Doves' third-year coach Glenn "Benji" Benjamin said the victory was exactly what he was looking for to open the new year as he cleared his bench to close out the final 15 minutes of the match.
"We played with high standards," Benjamin said. "I saw a lot of good stuff, finding open players with good finishes. The girls remained focused, getting the job done with good results."
Seven Doves scored as sophomore Reece Dantin scored twice to increase her team-high season total to 11 goals. Schwing banged home her 10th goal to go with three assists.
Juniors Carlie Perrin and Eliana Candebat also had a goal each, while junior Kailey Perilloux added a goal and an assist. Sophomore Jaycee Sercovich closed out the scoring with a goal in stoppage time.
The Doves (10-1-1, 1-0) have netted 31 goals this season while allowing just three, and Thursday's victory was a prime example of the team's strengths.
"Our philosophy is to focus on playing a team game, building in the back, which our players are embracing. We focus on getting the ball to the open player, making our opponents vulnerable and wanting to possess the ball. Moving forward, we want to make dynamic, creative runs," Benjamin said.
"The defense has posted nine shutouts, putting up lots of clean sheets. The defense does a good job getting the ball forward to start the attack."
Slidell coach Chad Albe said despite some recent success, his players knew it would be a tall task to control the Doves. To complicate matters further, the Tigers (7-5-2, 1-1) were missing five starters.
"SSA's skill level is excellent, so you can't make defensive mistakes," Albe said. "They move the ball well and quickly with almost surgical precision. We couldn't slow them down. They're a top-level team and are very disciplined. We'll have to learn from this and move on."
Now, the Doves will turn their attention to the rest of district play and a revenge match against Northshore on Jan. 16. The Panthers knocked SSA out of the playoffs last season with a 3-2 quarterfinals victory.
"Going against Northshore this season will be very meaningful," Connell said. "Our team has a lot of emotion built into this season based off last year's playoff loss."
Schwing added that the Doves will focus on building team chemistry to continue their unbeaten streak.
"We continue to practice hard and are coming together with coach Benji to help us improve. Lainey (Connell) and I offer good communication, setting the example and uplifting our teammates. It's all about encouraging when our intensity is low," Schwing said.
"We have a great team connection, continuing to build on our chemistry. We're friends outside of soccer, connecting as teammates, classmates and friends. We play with unselfish movement off the ball, looking for the best scoring opportunity and holding each other accountable. We suffer and grow together as a sisterhood."
SCORE BY HALVES
Slidell | 0 | X | — 0
SSA | 9 | X | — 9
INDIVIDUAL SCORING
SSA, Reece Dantin, 5th minute, 0-1; SSA, Lainey Connell, 11th minute, 0-2; SSA, Anna C. Schwing, 18th minute, 0-3; SSA, Connell, 20th minute; 0-4; SSA, Dantin, 22nd minute, 0-5; SSA, Carlie Perrin, 23rd minute, 0-6; SSA, Eliana Candebat, 27th minute, 0-7; SSA, Kailey Perilloux, 35th minute, 0-8; SSA, Jaycee Sercovich, 40th minute, 0-9.