STEENS — Krisi Boren planned to take a picture with her team Monday afternoon regardless of the outcome of its match against Immanuel Christian.
The final result made that picture an ideal way to finish the season.
Buoyed by three goals by Tori Fields, Heritage Academy wrapped up its 2011 season with a 3-0 victory.
Following the game, Boren informed her players the match would be her last as the team’s head coach. With a second child due in December, Boren said she was stepping aside so the school could find someone who would be able to give the team the attention it deserved.
The news was bittersweet for Boren, who has coached the team since 2008. The program has one of its most successful seasons that year, advancing to what then was the Mississippi Private School Association Class AA title game.
Since then, Heritage Academy moved up to Class AAA and hasn’t had as much success. But even though the Lady Patriots finished the season 3-8, Boren said her time as coach never was solely about wins and losses.
“It has really been great,” said Boren, whose team won its final two matches and avenged a loss to Immanuel Christian earlier in the season. “The whole reason I coach is because there is more to life than soccer. I love the game of soccer, but the majority of these girls in four years, three years, two years, they’re soccer career will be over and then there is life, and there is more to life than soccer, and there is more to life than sports.
“As competitive as I am, and as bad as I hate to lose, there are other things that are more important. I just hope that these girls have learned what it is to be of good character and what it is to be a young lady of integrity, not just on the field but off the field.”
Even though Heritage Academy didn’t know the match would be Boren’s last, it controlled much of the action against an Immanuel Christian squad that was at less than full strength due to injuries. The Lady Rams were without starters Tori Fitzgerald and Justine Bell. Missy Swaim also was at less than 100 percent due to a knee injury.
Still, Heritage Academy controlled the action, limiting Immanuel Christian to one shot on goal in the first half. Fields capitalized on the Lady Patriots’ possession in the opening half when she toe-poked a shot past goalkeeper Taylor Kidder (five saves) for what proved to be the game-winner.
The second goal proved to be prettier.
Margaret LeBrun controlled the ball in the middle and pushed it wide left to Katy Whitman, who carried the ball to the endline. Whitman delivered a left-footed cross into the box that Field ran onto and one-touched into the upper left corner of the net.
Fields recorded the hat trick in the 56th minute when she took a pass from LeBrun and rocketed a shot that slipped through Kidder’s hands.
From start to finish, the effort and intensity Monday — and in the previous two games against Pillow Academy and Magnolia Heights — was closer to what Boren has wanted, which made it even more satisfying to see the growth in her players.
“I told them it didn’t matter if we didn’t make playoffs or how many games we had left that every practice and in the games we were going to finish,” Boren said. “You finish when you step off the field you know you did it all and you left it all regardless of the outcome. Today I was very proud of the girls. They finished. I think they believe that, finally.”
Boren also announced that sophomore Rachel Stukenborg earned All-District honors in part for being the team’s leading scorer.
The loss wasn’t disappointing for Immanuel Christian coach Ray Campbell because his team is still trying to find a way to deal with deal with all of the injuries, which have dropped the team back to .500 after a 7-0 start.
Campbell said Immanuel Christian will have to win both of its games Saturday at River Oaks (La.) to earn a playoff bid.
“Not having the subs we usually sub in hurts a little,” Campbell said. “Heritage played a good game. They came out wanting it today. They were a little quicker than us to the ball. We were a little back on our heels today.”
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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