LA CENTER — Year after year, the Seton Catholic girls soccer team has seemingly taken another step forward.
In 2022, the Cougars reached the Class 1A state playoffs for the first time in program history. They replicated the feat in 2023 and also earned a share of the Trico League title with La Center.
Yet Seton players and coaches believe this year’s squad is even better, and they’re eager to prove it to everyone.
Phase one of the Cougars’ run was finished off Tuesday when they claimed a 2-0 road win over the Wildcats to earn another first for the program — an outright Trico League title.
“I’ve been on this team since freshman year and we made it to state both years, but we (had) first-round exits,” junior center back Ava Gavora said. “So, coming here, undefeated league champs, it feels pretty good.”
Seton Catholic (15-0, 13-0) remains undefeated with one regular season game left before the 1A District 4 playoffs begin Nov. 5. In order to get this far without ceding a defeat, the Cougars have grown into a well-rounded group full of players rising to the occasion in key moments.
Freshman Lilah Chase scored in the fifth minute to spot the Cougars an early lead, senior Jessica Barrett added a second-half penalty kick, and Seton’s defense and senior goalkeeper Hailey Hammerstrom posted their 10th shutout of the season.
“I think people are just stepping up,” Gavora said. “(Compared to) past years, everybody is really putting in more effort, stepping up and getting to their full potential.”
“Everyone is playing their hardest every game,” junior center back GG Lougen added. “They want to be here. It’s just super cool to see everybody trying their hardest every game.”
A key component of their rise, according to Antonio Buckley, Seton’s head coach since 2020, is the team’s combined experience gained over the last two seasons. Many of the Cougars’ upperclassmen (eight juniors, three seniors) were along for the ride during both playoff runs ending in the first round of the 1A state tournament.
“A lot of these players that you see making a difference were freshmen that year (2022) on that team that started it,” Buckley said. “They have two years of being in tough situations. And these girls, to me, they really like each other, so it just translates on the field. They’re very coachable.”
Another word Buckley uses to describe the team is maturity, a trait that is often tested in challenging moments.
Seton had one such instance Tuesday it they lost junior CJ Moore for picking up her second yellow card and played the final 30 minutes with 10 players on the field.
The moment turned out to be nothing more than a footnote. The Cougars continued to push against La Center’s defense-heavy formation, with as many as 10 players behind the ball. They were rewarded in the 59th minute when Lougen weaved through the Wildcats’ (8-6-1, 8-5) defense and fell to the grass after drawing contact inside the penalty area, setting up Barrett’s PK.
“Honestly, I think it made us even hungrier for the win,” Lougen said.
Now that the Cougars have a league title in hand, they’re hungry for more. They’ll be the Trico’s No. 1 seed when the district playoffs begin Nov. 5 with a clear path to return to state.
“They want it,” Buckley said. “They want to win the league title, they want to go far. The biggest difference is just maturity. These girls are self-driven.”
“We’re just looking to play our hardest and continue our streak,” Lougen said.
