St. Vincent girls soccer returns to Class 1 state after embracing its make-or-break moment

St. Vincent seniors, from left, Jenna Winkler, Kaiti Schnurbusch, Courtney Brewer, Abby Buchheit and Corin Carroll pose for a photo during practice Monday, May 28, 2018 at Bank of Missouri Soccer Complex in Perryville, Missouri.

BEN MATTHEWS ~ bmatthews@semissourian.com

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- Different people call it different things. A comeuppance. A reckoning. A handful of more colorful terms.

For the St. Vincent girls soccer team, it was a turning point.

Indians coach Caitlin Pistorio is careful how she talks about it, because rivalries are funny things, especially when they are of the crosstown variety and "the other side" might be your neighbor. The gist of it, however, is this: on April 30, St. Vincent lost to Perryville 2-0, and it changed the Indians' season.

"I don't want to take anything away -- they beat us, they were the better team that day," Pistorio said. "But we met after that game and we said, 'This is the make-or-break moment. You guys are either going to decide you want it and pull together as a team, or we'll just get through these last games and move along.'"

You can decide for yourself which course of action St. Vincent took, as it returns to Swope Soccer Village in Kansas City, Missouri, today to face Lone Jack (16-2) in a Class 1 semifinal at 2 p.m. as the Indians (18-6-1) attempt to defend their state championship.

St. Vincent seniors, from left, Kaiti Schnurbusch, Corin Carroll, Courtney Brewer, Jenna Winkler and Abby Buchheit pose for a photo during practice Monday, May 28, 2018 at Bank of Missouri Soccer Complex in Perryville, Missouri.

BEN MATTHEWS ~ bmatthews@semissourian.com

"I think we were just really disappointed in ourselves. That was not us (against Perryville)," St. Vincent senior forward Corin Carroll said. "I'm not taking anything from Perryville, because they're definitely a great team, but we could have played a lot better, ourselves as a team. I think after that was more of a wakeup call. It sucks it had to work out that way, but it was definitely a blessing in disguise that it worked that way. After that we all got our heads screwed on straight and were ready to roll."

St. Vincent came into 2018 riding the high of a state title with the hopes and expectations that come with returning eight of 11 starters. That experience can be both a blessing and a curse, and it was one of Pistorio's biggest concerns entering the spring.

"[I worried] whether people were going to be satisfied with having already won a state title," Pistorio said. "... A lot of returning players who were a part of it, and you always have that concern of how many are going to think, 'Ah, done it before, not as enthused to get it done this year.'"

That mental hurdle was compounded by the fact that the few pieces of the puzzle the Indians had to replace were some of the most important, retooling the spine of the team after graduating both central midfielders and a sweeper.

The midfield proved especially tricky. Just when experimentation seemed to provide some answers, the rug was pulled out when Kalli Seabaugh -- who scored 19 goals as a sophomore striker and appeared to be half of the answer in the center of the park this year -- went down with a season-ending injury; the Indians were left with constant, churning turnover at the one spot that controls the game as much as any.

"It was constant adjustments for probably our first 10 games," Pistorio said. "... In those two (central) positions, we had seven different people start that I can count off the top of my head right now. It's been a bit of a revolving door, but I'm satisfied with where we are right now."

Where it sits now is with senior Abby Buccheit and sophomore Megan Lipe, both of whom mainly filled wide roles last season. But it's a partnership that has begun to find some chemistry behind a forward pairing of veteran goal threat Carroll and freshman Genevieve Lipe.

"We threw Buccheit in there and she's done great. She was made for that spot," St. Vincent senior Kaiti Schnurbusch said. "But figuring out who the other one would be (was a challenge). Corin, we need her to score, but she's also so good at controlling the ball in the center of the field and making those passes. I think we figured it out with Corin and Genna up top -- that's how it needs to be -- and Lipe and Buccheit in the middle. That's how it's fit."

Schnurbusch reprises her role as a defensive destroyer in the middle, Jenna Winkler provides a veteran presence as an outside back and dead-ball specialist and Courtney Brewer is back in net as a third-year starter.

But even as the Indians figured out personnel, they also had to discover the right approach. Part of that was leaving last year's championship behind and committing to a new journey.

"We just kind of jumped to conclusions at the beginning of the season instead of just taking baby steps and working toward it," Schnurbusch said. "I think we were trying to fly toward it right away.

"It was definitely hard because [winning a title] has been the highlight of all of our soccer careers. It's hard to not think about that every chance we get. But we try not to talk about it too much."

St. Vincent senior Abby Buchheit poses for a photo during practice Monday, May 28, 2018 at Bank of Missouri Soccer Complex in Perryville, Missouri.

BEN MATTHEWS ~ bmatthews@semissourian.com

However, talking turned out to be the most important thing the Indians could do. While St. Vincent continued to win games at a similar clip to a year ago, something just seemed different. And the two-goal loss to a crosstown rival forced whatever was holding the Indians back to bubble to the surface.

"Everyone sat down together. Some of the newer players voiced some of their concerns, frustrations, and some of the veterans voiced their concerns and frustrations," Pistorio said. "Everybody got it out on the table and put it behind them. That was one of the worst and best things that happened this season, going through that loss and the things that came from it.

"I think that's vital. ... You have to have everyone on the same page. To be able to sit down, get everything out there on the table, have some short-term memory about it and move on was a great step for them to come together as a team."

With things hashed out and the air cleared, St. Vincent has marched toward its goal of winning another state title. Schnurbusch and Carroll agree that returning to state has been harder than getting there the first time, but now that the Indians are there, they hope the experience of last year will help them calm the nerves and help focus on the task at hand.

Now, the memories that may have held St. Vincent back are driving it forward.

"I can't really picture any other ending than winning the championship," Carroll said, "but I know anything can happen. ... We can't look so far ahead -- I think that's what shot us in the foot at the beginning of the season. But I think all of us have that dream. The freshmen want to experience it, and everyone else wants to feel it again. I don't think anyone can imagine anything different."

Lone Jack is the only team in the Class 1 final four which was not there a year ago.

The other semifinal features Principia (9-8) and Fatima (16-7) at noon. The championship game will be at 2 p.m. Thursday.