Destrehan’s Victoria Viquez scored twice as the Ladycats earned their first victory of the season Tuesday night, defeating Slidell 3-0 on the road.
Brooke Ledet scored the third goal of the night, doing so in the second half to all but put away the win for her team. Destrehan (1-6-1) has faced some strong competitors early on but a team with several new faces on the field may be starting to find a groove on the field.
“We finally started connecting, able to find through balls, taking shots from distance … it felt like everyone was connecting as a team,” said Destrehan head coach Jade Gallaher, now in her second season leading the program. “We’ve got a very young team this year and we’ve wanted them to see what good teams look like. Tonight, we were able to put it together.”
The defense and goalkeeper Bridget Stillman recorded their first shutout of the season. She is one of several first-year starters, particularly on the defensive side of the field.
“The defense is brand new,” said Gallaher. “We have a lot of freshmen in the lineup, overall … I think on the back line we’ve seen a lot of growth so far. We’re connecting in midfield … we’re still trying to connect up top. That’s going to come … we just have to keep taking shots on goal and start putting it in the back of the net.”
A lot comes down to mentality, which comes with experience.
“Keep looking for through balls to transition up the field … we don’t want to stay too defensive-minded the whole time. We need to push and look for opportunities,” Gallaher said.
Khloe Burford and Viquez are tied atop the team in goals scored thus far.
Center back Grace Garcia, meanwhile, has also stepped up in a big way for the Wildcats.
“She gives us 110 percent every time she steps onto the field,” said Gallaher.
Darlene Zuniga-Medina and Malina Mendez are two other new starters who are key to the defense.
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