Both Sacred Heart soccer clubs aren’t stressing too hard these days. The Lady Crusaders look to four-peat a state championship, the Crusaders are primed for a return trip to the state championship and both teams return loads of talent from last season.
“We’re just trying to find a way to put the ball in the back of the net,” Sacred Heart coach Joe Falla said of his boys’ team. “It’s really not an issue, but I just want to see more goals. We’re doing a good job and we’re organized, but I want to see more goals.
“It’s kind of quiet. We’re trying to fly under the radar.”
The Crusaders are coming off a disappointing loss in the 1A/2A/3A State Championship last February, but the game hasn’t been talked about, Falla said. In fact, talking about winning a state championship hasn’t been discussed all that much, which is different from prior teams.
Falla admitted he’s doing a few things differently this year, but he wouldn’t go into any detail.
“We’ve never really talked about winning a state championship this year, and that’s a little different than the few years before,” Falla said. “We’ll just let the chips fall where they fall. So far, for me and my experiment, it’s been pretty spot on. It’s been eye-opening for me.”
Sacred Heart sits at 6-2-2 overall and 1-1 in region play with a loss to St. Patrick. It didn’t lose any seniors from last season’s team, but the team did lose a goal-scoring starter, Heath Flathau, to an out-of-state transfer. However, three big-time goal scorers are back, as sophomores Miller Hayden and Seaton Hixson and junior Bennett Gibson are looking to make a return trip to the state championship game.
Hayden has been dealing with injuries, though, and it’s kept the striker out of more than half of this season’s contests. He does, however, lead the team with eight goals, as senior Gabe Naquin adds six and Hixson has tallied three.
“It’s a next-man-up kind of deal,” Falla said. “A lot of people have stepped up their game and their leadership, and I’m very proud of my team. I’m proud of where we are. It’s 11 people out there.”
The Sacred Heart girls aren’t worried about its overall record. At one point, the Lady ‘Saders were 1-4, but they played bigger schools like Brandon, Gulfport and West Lauderdale. Sitting at 5-5 overall after Tuesday’s win over Northeast Lauderdale, coach Joe “Papa” Falla Sr. doesn’t care about his team’s overall record.
What he does care about, however, is the Lady Crusaders’ 3-0 region record. They’ve already beaten Our Lady Academy (4-0), Perry Central (8-0) and St. Patrick (3-2), and Sacred Heart will play all three of those teams, including Resurrection twice, in January.
“I don’t worry about all of that because in the preseason you have to prepare for the region and playoffs,” Falla Sr. said. “Once the playoffs are here, we can play ball.”
Like the boy’s team, the Lady ‘Saders have dealt with some early-season injuries with two starters, seniors Allie Bilbo and Blair Viator, but Falla Sr. is proud of how the few younger girls have played in their absence.
He named freshman defender Tess McIntire as one of those players who have stepped up.
“I feel good about it,” Falla Sr. said. “With any luck at all, we should be able to play for a championship again. That’s how I look at it unless something else happens.”
Of course, Sacred Heart still has a pitch full of talent. It only lost one starter from last year, and even with two other starters still injured, the Lady Crusaders have more than enough to make up for it at this point of the season.
The Top 5 goal scorers from last season, senior Jessica Hyde, junior Gabby Falla, sophomore Olivia Ware, freshman Gracie Falla, and sophomore Lauren Jones, are back to net more goals this year. So far, all five have found the back of the net through the first 10 games, as Sacred Heart is a threat to score from all over the field.
Both teams are about to hit a hiatus until January, and Falla Sr. wants to see his team come back from the break connecting more passes and have better first touches on the ball.
“Those are things that we’re not doing,” he said. “We’re not as good as I wanted to be connecting passes, but a little more time and we’ll get there.”
