The time had finally come to see if this year’s Lady Knights soccer team would start where they left off from last year’s State Quarterfinal team.


The team did not leave any dispute in the answer to that question, seeing as they dominated the Bi-State Shootout at Sportport soccer complex March 23-27.
The Knights opened up against Cor Jesu, a team typically ranked in the top ten in the area, and won 4-1. Their next opponent, Granite City, could not play with the Knights either and the ladies won with another convincing
4-1 score. This set them up in the championship game against Edwardsville where they came out with a dominant 3-0 win.
“We played very well,” senior captain Dani Langness
said. “Our defense was very solid playing against three very good teams and our offense pulled through as well.”
One player on offense who “pulled through” was senior captain Morgan Boudreau, who scored four goals in the tournament and was elected to the All-Tournament team along with Langness and junior Cindy Lackey.
Although the Knights dominated the tournament, their next game would truly prove how good of a team they were as they would face off against powerhouse Incarnate Word, the 2008 State Champions.
The game was very back-and-forth, and at the end of regulation the score was tied 1-1. It eventually went into penalty kicks where the Knights won with a score of 4-3.
“[Winning the game] was a major confidence booster,” Lackey said. “We wanted to beat them so bad. They were very beat able and that was one of our main goals. The energy from the team was awesome and the fans were amazing which got us really hyped up.”
With a winning record and the confidence to succeed, the team is looking ahead to the big picture.
“We really want to win conference, peak at the end of the year, and make it past the Quarterfinals,” Head Coach Dan Hogan said.