One of the best girls soccer programs in Cincinnati, if not all of Ohio, has never had a place to call its own.
Seton High School has opened its own sports complex in Delhi Township, the Gould Family Seton Sports Complex off Delhi Road. The complex has a turf field, two scoreboards, lots of bleacher space and a press box among other amenities.
The soccer team has had one varsity game there so far, but it was a rousing success on and off the scoreboard when the Saints beat Anderson 8-0 on Aug. 14 in front of a large crowd.
The team had been playing at Elder’s off-campus complex for several years and no longer has to schedule around their brother school.
“It’s awesome,” Seton senior Louise “Lou” Guidugli said. “We’ve always been playing from place
to place but now we get to call a place our home. It’s awesome we get to make some history on that field and leave a legacy for the girls behind us.”
Head coach Jay Kiley said the field is helping the program.
“That is unbelievable,” he said. “That's been a blessing in disguise. So we didn't realize how awesome it would be until it was here and now it's been fantastic.”
The Saints will have a huge game at the complex coming up when they host archrival Mount Notre Dame Sept. 9 in a Girls Greater Catholic League contest.
Seton is 1-0 in the eight-game GGCL schedule through Sept. 8, and 5-0 overall, outscoring its foes by a total of 28-1. That not only includes the rout of a usually strong Anderson team, but wins over regular Division I contenders Centerville and Mason.
“The team is filled with talent, unity, leadership, and they play as one for the ‘one,’” Kiley said. “They need to play as one, the way that they've been doing, and they need to play with intensity because we need to be on our ‘A’ game for (MND).”
The Saints have received a boost from Guidugli, a senior committed to the University of Alabama. She played her freshman year at Seton, scoring nine goals to help the team reach the state semifinals. Between an ACL injury and club ball, she was away from the program for two seasons before deciding to play her senior year.
She has six goals and five assists so far this year.
“I think this team is something special, especially for me coming back from an ACL injury my freshman year,” she said. “This team is special because we’re not only playing soccer but we’re playing for God. The key to this team is trusting each other. We’re playing together. We’re playing for something bigger than ourselves. We’re trusting in each other and having fun.”
She loves being back, and said her cousin Rosie Kelsey, a junior, was part of the reason she returned.
“It took a lot of reflection and prayer,” she said. “But the two years I had to decide, I wanted to come back stronger than I was before. I knew when the time was right, the Lord would make it happen. I just had a feeling in my heart this was the time.”
Junior Mary Jung has five goals and five assists and is in her third year as a key piece in the offense. Thirteen different players have found the back of the net. The Saints have four versatile veteran senior players in Lexi Voelkerding, Lauren Vaughn, Addison Gick and Shanell Humes.
Junior Kara Buck, a Division I prospect, has allowed one goal in net.
“We have unbelievable defense that can switch from a four-back to a three-back,” Kiley said. “Lauren can play in the back and she can also play up high. So we have just versatile players everywhere.”
Guidugli said the team’s goal is a state championship and the Saints will have to build to get there. Whatever happens, she is proud to be in the program again and a future graduate of the school.
“It’s shaped me to be the person I am today,” she said. “It’s going to shape me to be the mother I am (someday), the wife I am. The sisterhood, the faith in what we do.”
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: New home field digs, returning star lead Seton soccer to 5-0 start
