Rebels fall to Lusher

Published 12:00 am Tuesday, November 23, 2010

By RYAN ARENA

L’Observateur

NEW ORLEANS – Riverside opened its 2010 girls soccer season Thursday, falling 4-1 at Lusher.

Mary Gurley scored the Rebels’ lone goal. It cut a 2-0 Lions lead in half, but Lusher tacked on two more scores before the game was through.

Riverside coach Stephen Millet said that his girls fought despite playing a bit shorthanded due to commitments in other sports (The SCC girls competed Thursday in Sulphur at the state swimming meet, capturing second), and that overall it was a performance to build upon.

“We had some girls out until halftime,” said Millet. “And this is a really young team on top of it. We haven’t really gelled yet. Considering all of that though, I thought we did a pretty solid job.”

One of his few seniors is goalkeeper Kaci Simon, who he expects to be one of his team’s top players this season.

“She played really well in the goal. Defensively we played pretty well. They have one very good player who scored their goals. She hit three long range shots, but I thought we were pretty sound in that area.”

Millet said that he’s optimistic about his team’s prospects this season.

“The majority of our defense is intact,” said Millet. “We’ve got good leadership in Kaci, all the girls respect her. Shelby (Deslatte) is back the middle, Taylor Terrio had a strong year, and Mary Gurley keeps improving. We’ll see if we have what it takes to compete and start winning these district games when the time comes.”