Notre Dame girls soccer brings experience into third consecutive Class 2 final four as seniors look to cap career with another state crown

Notre Dame's Megan Heisserer goes after the ball during Notre Dame's 5-1 win over Lutheran High School South in the recent Class 2 sectional game at Notre Dame Regional High School.

Jacob Wiegand

The Notre Dame girls soccer team has been in this position each of the last two seasons. So getting to a final four, while thrilling, is not the goal the Bulldog seniors set for themselves before this season.

They wanted more, a Class 2 state championship specifically, two years after many of the same players helped capture the program's first state crown.

Notre Dame came up just short last year, falling in the title game, and that defeat has pushed this group through offseason workouts and into a familiar spot. The Bulldogs aim to take one more step towards their goal at noon Wednesday in a state semifinal against Pleasant Hill, the top-ranked team in the Class 2 state coaches poll.

Notre Dame's Kalie Compas (2), center with hands up, celebrates a Bulldog goal with other teammates during the Notre Dame Bulldogs' 2-0 win over the Perryville Pirates on Tuesday, April 30, 2019, at Notre Dame Regional High School in Cape Girardeau.

Jacob Wiegand ~ Southeast Missourian

"Coming off last year and knowing we could have won but it didn't go out the way we wanted, going into this year we're going to leave everything out on the field," Notre Dame senior midfielder Bailey Beussink said, "because we don't want to come home with regrets like we did last year."

It wasn't a full-strength Notre Dame squad that fell in last season's title game after Abby Wilson tore her ACL in the semifinal victory. Also, there were other Bulldogs, including leading scorer Megan Heisserer, who were not at 100 percent. The Bulldogs were unable to overcome those setbacks and fell 1-0 to Christian.

"Last year, they felt they didn't have the best showing, and we had essentially limped into the championship game," Notre Dame coach Ryan Schweain said. "They want to redeem themselves this year. They're excited. They're determined and they're ready."

It's also the last time this group of eight seniors, many of whom have been playing together since they were seven or eight years old, will take the field together. It's a group headlined by Heisserer, who scored the game-winning goal in the 2017 state championship game and has 52 goals in 26 games this season.

It's not just the Southeast Missouri State signee, though. Wilson and Haley Morris have played in every game this season and along with Julia Williams, who has played in all but one game, are part of a defense that has given up more than goal just twice this season.

Kristen Tarno, Beussink, and Livia Wunderlich are also mainstays in midfield, and Tarno is fourth on the team in goals (16) and points (43).

"It's one of those things where we all have to use that to motivate us," Wunderlich said. "Yeah, it will be our last time all playing together, on the field at the same time, so we kind of have to use that to play to our best ability and be able to think back on that as a good memory."

Underclassmen have played a part in this season, as well.

Freshman forward Allison Buchheit is second on the team with 21 goals and 58 points, while sophomore Hannah Miller has chipped in 20 goals and 10 assists.

Sophomore goalkeeper Caroline Lochmann has given up just 12 goals in 25 games with 11 shutouts, and sophomore Kalie Compas has played in all but one game in midfield. Juniors Emily Kellum and Maggie Eby have also been contributors on defense along with Mollie Jennings in midfield.

Despite losing four starters from last year's team, Notre Dame enters state with a 24-1-1 record and on a 20-game winning streak.

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St. Vincent girls soccer leans on family bonds, real and figurative, as it aims for third consecutive Class 1 state title

By Phillip Suitts ~ Southeast Missourian

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- Like most coaches, Caitlin Pistorio strives to create a family-like bond between her players. Luckily for Pistorio, the fifth-year St. Vincent girls soccer coach, the groundwork had been laid in that regard long before this season started. Family bonds permeate the Indians, from the two pairs of sisters, all starters, to a group...

"I think we've had a great season, not just talking wins and losses," Schweain said. "I felt like we've progressed very well, from the beginning to now. I think the underclassmen, they're letting the leaders guide them, and I've seen fantastic improvement from the underclassmen, kind of stepping into those roles of graduates that graduated last year. They've been able to fill those spots and been doing a fantastic job there."

To reach the state championship game for the third consecutive season, the Bulldogs will have to knock off a Pleasant Hill team that hasn't lost since April 2 and brings a 23-1 record into the final four.

Senior forward Mackenzie Dimarco leads the Chicks with 86 goals through 22 games.

"All we know is they're a good team, and it's going to be a good game," Williams said. "It's going to be a good game to the final whistle, the final minute, final seconds."

Whatever happens, the seniors know these will be their last two games as Bulldogs. They hope to go out on top and win another state title and leave one last mark on the program.

"It's going to be difficult to say goodbye to this group," Schweain said. "Just off the field, great girls. They've really kind of taken Notre Dame soccer to the next level, so they're going to be missed, not just by the coaching staff but by the underclassmen and the school. They're just going to miss this group of girls."