LVS stumbles to start district play

The Nolan Catholic Women's Soccer team stumbled on the road Thursday night in the opening match of district play.

Down by 2 at the half, the Lady Vikings could only get within one on a bomb of a goal by sophomore, Paola Vazquez, the first of her high school career.

Lady Vikings head coach Jay Fitzgerald commented after the game, "We gifted a couple goals but even then, I thought we would make it up.  I have to do a better job with stressing the importance of preparation and habits but I am happy with how we get better as the game goes on."

To be objective the Lady Vikings were able to get into scoring situations 27 times in and around the TCA box.  "The number of options that we had when in possession was the best I have ever seen but credit TCA, they were able to make the plays at the right time.  Our midfield was fun to watch tonight on both sides of the ball," said Fitzgerald.

The game was very open and with LVS averaging over 3 goals a game, the 2 goal deficit seem attainable.  Vazquez picked out the corner just 9 minutes into the second half and the Lady Vikings continued to pour on the pressure.   Laci Earixson, Mya Ulloa, Sophie Bailey, and Bella Tankersley were able to sustain an impressive workrate but getting extra numbers forward will be a topic of discussion as the Lady Vikings reflect on the match.

The Lady Vikings return home next Friday and then continue district play the week after that before they head to the Tri-Valley Showcase in San Francisco, CA Dec. 20-23.

   

LVS back in action on the road; District starts Thursday

The Lady Vikings come out of Thanksgiving Break with a JV/Varsity double header on the road tonight and Thursday.  Many players spent their break at college showcase tournaments at the prestigious Surf Cup and the Silver Lakes Fall Showcase in California and the Disney Showcase in Florida.

The groups are ready to get back to work taking on Hockaday in Dallas tonight with both teams kicking off at 5:30pm.

The varsity is currently 2-1 gaining local, regional, and national respect sitting at #39 in the National polls.  The JV plays their first regular season match tonight.  Abby Geiser, Laci Earixson, and Avery Hutka lead the way for the Lady Vikings with double digits in points in the first 3 matches.

TCA will host Nolan Catholic on Thursday at 5:00pm and 7:00pm which is the district opener for both teams.  The JV will kick off the night at 5:00pm.

LVSers back to work with back to back wins

The Lady Vikings improve to 2-1-0 on the season with back to back wins over Bishop Dunne and Plano Prestonwood.  After dropping a heartbreaking loss to national rival, Ursuline, 4-2 the Lady Vikings got back on track with a couple dominating performances this week.

Underclassmen highlight the score sheet contributing for 18 of the 23 goals the Lady Vikings have scored during the first 3 games of the season.  Freshman, Avery Hutka leads the way with 6 goals while 2018 LVS Offensive players of the year, Abby Geiser has 5.  Both players have scored in all 3 games.

"We are definitely moving in the right direction, our young players are fitting in nicely anchored well by some upperclassmen.  I am most impressed by our ability to get better when and if we make changes in matches," said LVS head coach, Jay Fitzgerald.

The response on and off the field has been positive after the opening match loss to Ursuline.  The training environment is realistic and competitive.  A full week went by after the first game only to see another game get postponed due to weather.  The Nolan Catholic women's team had several training opportunities to reflect and prepare before meeting up with Dunne and Prestonwood in back to back matches.

Of the 22 varsity players on the roster, 11 of those are underclassmen and 7 of those 11 have started this season.  The Lady Vikings have a core of younger and older players that mix well based on their qualities on and off the field.

Most of the Lady Vikings will take the Thanksgiving Break to travel to college showcase events in Tulsa, California, and Florida and won't miss a beat when they return after break to take on Hockaday and kick-off district play the final week of November.

Busy Week for Lady Vikings; Home Monday and Wednesday

After a full week of no games, the Lady Vikings are making up for it with 3 games this week.  The JV and Varsity play a double header tonight at home against John Paul kicking off at 6:00pm and 7:45pm.  Wednesday the varsity returns home hosting Bishop Dunne at 6:00pm before they take to the road on Thursday meet up with Prestonwood at 7:00pm.

With a couple scrimmages under their belt the Lady Vikings look for the season to get going.  The varsity dropped their first match of the season to Ursuline 4-2 a couple weeks ago.  Abby Geiser scored the first goal of the year for the Lady Vikings, while freshman Avery Hutka scored her first career high school goal.

Head coach, Jay Fitzgerald is excited about the match tonight, "We haven't played in a week and as much as it is not ideal to play in the cold, our team needs opportunities to be uncomfortable."

Tonights match will be broadcast LIVE @NCHSmedia CLICK HERE

#lvsLIVE

OPEN HOUSE; Sunday from 12pm-3pm

Come join us at Nolan Catholic High School this Sunday afternoon from 12pm-3pm for our OPEN HOUSE.  Come and See why Nolan Catholic will give you the best high school experience in the classroom and on the field.  Tour our campus, learn more about our facility updates, meet our teachers, and hang out with our student-athletes and get first hand accounts of WHY Nolan Catholic.

Specifically come check out what it is like to be a Nolan Women's Soccer player, learn about our players development model, check out our locker room, amazing stadium, talk to our coaches and players, and find out when our next match/event will take place.

The Nolan Catholic Women's Soccer Program is one of the most dynamic high school programs in the country with over 800 wins, 28 Regional Championships and Final Four Appearances, 16 State Runner Up finishes, and 4 State Championships.  The Lady Vikings Soccer Program has been National Ranked each year since 1999, ranked as high as #8.

For more information contact LVS Head Coach, Jay Fitzgerald at 817-917-1491 or email jay@jatoathletics.com.

LVS loses their first game of the season to rival Ursuline; 4-2

The Lady Vikings opend the season a bit slower then expected on Thursday night.  The defending state champion, Ursuline Bears, handed the Lady Vikings a 4-2 loss at Doskocil Stadium.

A double header, starting with Viking JV Football turned to the feature match of the evening with the nations top women's soccer rivalry in high school soccer.  Nolan and Ursuline have met 16 times in the state championship with Ursuline winning all 16 of them for a total of 26 with Nolan at 4.

"What a better way to start the season then with Ursuline.  We have so much respect for them...our rivalry and all the players and coaches that have been apart of this rivalry since 1990," mentioned LVS head coach, Jay Fitzgerald.

With just 14 minutes gone in the first half, the Lady Bears held a 3-0 lead.  Shaky to say the least, the Lady Vikings started 3 freshman including 3 other players that got to experience this incredible rivalry for the first time tonight.

The Bears were able to extend the lead just into the second half with a bomb from distance from midfielder, Kylie Dobbs.

The Lady Vikings would not go away and continued to press on and with just about 10 to play they were able to get on the board with a very nice build up goal by Abby Geiser and just before the final horn sounded, the cut the Ursuline lead in half on a goal from freshman, Avery Hutka.  That goal marked the first career high school goal for Hutka.

Geiser lead the way for the Lady Vikings with 4 shots, next in line were newcomers, Mya Ulloa and Laci Earixson both with 2 shots.  Freshman goalkeeper, Alle Steining had 18 saves.

The Lady Vikings return home on Monday against Bishop Dunne.

Fitzgerald on his overall feeling of the evening
Ursuline scored 2 world class goals tonight but so did we.  I have been a part of a lot of amazing teams here at Nolan Catholic but last year and this years team have some really grit and fight to them and they just won't give up.  Tonight I saw something different from our group. We have something here for sure.