The Shawnee Dispatch / St. James blasts Basehor, readies for regionals

Archive for Friday, May 9, 2008

May 9, 2008

The game ended a few minutes early on Friday afternoon when the St. James Academy girls soccer team earned an 11-1 mercy-rule victory over Basehor-Linwood at Stump Park.

The lopsided win was a celebratory conclusion of sorts to the end of a regular season loaded with progress and success for St. James.

“Basehor-Linwood has some good players and they are very well-coached,” St. James coach Rick Enna said. “I just think today everything was clicking for us, and that’s where we want to be entering the playoffs. That’s for sure.”

Rachel Weimer scored two goals for St. James. Other goals were scored by Sarah Feldkamp, Kelsey Moffitt, Maggie Blowey, Dani Todd, Maggie Cunningham, Jenna Bruegger, Jordan Marquess, Kara McCaughey and Bethany Smith.

The Thunder improved to 12-3-1 with the victory and likely will receive a high seed for the Class 5-1A regional playoffs when brackets are set on Saturday.

Enna said he expects his squad to be one of the top six seeds in the 20-team regional pool, but he doesn’t anticipate a first-round bye.

This will be the Thunder’s second journey into the playoffs. Last year’s freshman-sophomore club marched to the state quarterfinals before falling in overtime to Shawnee Heights.

Enna said this year’s team — which has lots of experience and no seniors — is more prepared for the playoffs. He points to a schedule that included such state powers as St. Thomas Aquinas and Olathe South as proof.

“We’ve played a tough schedule, and hopefully that has given us the confidence to know we can play anybody without being intimidated come playoff time,” he said.

“I think our kids are prepared very well this year. They’re also a year older; they’re also a little bit bigger, a little bit faster and a little bit stronger. They’ve certainly played a lot of good teams this year. That doesn’t translate to victories in the playoffs, but it definitely gives us confidence heading into the playoffs.”

Whom do you think John McCain should choose as his running mate?

“Sometimes he has a perception of being ambivalent, and he could pick a woman who has a strong record — there are some good choices out there. He’s probably going to have to make some choices about what voters he wants; if he chooses someone like Mitt Romney, he could get more conservative voters.”

— Densel Ballo

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