KFDM COOP Posted March 19, 2008 Report Posted March 19, 2008 Lady Indians used to adversity THIS WEEK'S PREP SOCCER BIDISTRICT PLAYOFF MENU By Tom Halliburton The Port Arthur News There's definitely a significant reason or two why Port Neches-Groves is riding a pleasant wave into tonight's 4A girls soccer playoffs. That's because the Lady Indians have been coping with adversity from day one in this 2008 high school season. It's never been that much of a pat hand for PN-G (16-5) yet a reloading squad of players dealt with it, finishing second in the 20-4A race and improving as the season progressed. Perhaps it starts with PN-G head coach Aimee Bates missing the season's first five weeks on maternity leave. Perhaps it continues with the renovation of Indian Stadium forcing the team to play its home games at Nederland's Prather Field venue. Whatever the case may be, the Lady Indians definitely are accustomed to wearing their white jerseys, hopping on the bus and leaving town to be the home team. That will apply again tonight at Humble's Charles Street Stadium against Huntsville in a 4A bidistrict matchup at 6 p.m. "The girls have done well in spite of everything," Bates said Wednesday as her team wrapped up its preparation for a playoff entry. "I certainly feel like we've progressed very well." PN-G historically has been a high-quality girls defensive soccer team. Offense often has proven to be the Lady Indians' downfall. With 12 goals from Marisa Elam and 11 goals from freshman Natalie Hager, this 2008 squad has been able to blend offense and defense while combining a healthy mixture of freshmen and veterans. PN-G defeated Huntsville 3-1 very early in the season at PN-G's tournament, but that game hardly has mattered in serving as much of a barometer for gauging Huntsville's current squad. The Lady Hornets defeated Montgomery, 3-1, to qualify on Tuesday night as the District 19-4A's third-place representative. The Lady Indians will stay with junior Breanne Martin as goalkeeper. Her 12 shutouts have been very good, including 11 of them in district. Senior Chelsea Smith will anchor the defense at sweeper, supported by junior Brandi Guidry and sophomore Brittany Vigee at fullbacks, junior Chelsea Horn at stopper, junior Alexis Smithy and sophomore Alexis Harper at outside midfielders, seniors Elam and Brittany Ansel at the center mids, with Hager and senior Victoria Williams at forwards. Nederland girls vs. Kingwood Park Traditional bidistrict entry Nederland (16-5-1) should not be lulled into expecting this first-year school to resemble a first-year program. Humble Kingwood Park head coach Dean Herbst served as head coach across town at Kingwood for the past three seasons. The green and white clad Panthers went 11-3-1 and 9-2-1 with a 24-goal scorer sophomore Brooke Harper as the team's lone weapon with more than five goals during the season. "They are a first-year squad but all of their girls play in a lot of club league soccer," Johnson said. "So I'm sure we will want to be at our best. "I'm hoping we will come out with the same mindset that we had in the first 10-minute period of our overtime game against PN-G (on Monday night). That game with Port Neches was as competitive as any we've had."
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