Tie in season finale versus Demons has feel of victory to it for Nicholls soccer team

If ever a team made a tie seem more like a win, it was Nicholls’ 2-2 draw against the Northwestern State soccer squad on Friday night at the Thibodaux Regional Sports Complex.

“It actually feels really good. Being our last game, we got to produce something. Two goals, that’s more than we scored on a conference game all year, and I’m just glad we got to do it for our seniors,” said Nicholls junior Lauren Andre, whose first-half goal gave her team an early spark.

The seniors Andre referred to were Caryn Bonadona and Kaitlyn Poirrier, playing their final match in a Nicholls uniform.

“The energy was just out of this world,” said Bonadona. “I never questioned anybody’s work ethic. I looked to my right, I looked to my left, I know we were all working. We wanted a result, especially the last game – especially for my last game and K.P’s last game.

“I’m so proud of all these girls and what a way to go out with a tie in our last game and to fight every second of the game – so proud.”

Because of COVID, both Bonadona and Poirrier had five-year careers. In the case of Bonadona, all came in a Nicholls uniform. In an ironic twist, Poirrier played her first four years at Northwestern State before moving on to Nicholls as a graduate student.

“This is actually the team I transferred from, so for them (her Nicholls teammates) to show up, it felt like they had my back and had Coco’s back. It felt really good. I told them even though it wasn’t easy to walk away from the game, they made it a little bit easier knowing that this is what I imagined my last game to be like with my team,” Poirrier said.

Nicholls finished the season 1-17-1 overall, including 0-9-1 in the conference. Although the Lady Colonels’ non-win streak in the Southland Conference is at five years and counting, the tie ended a 12-game losing streak and provided a positive note to conclude the 2023 season.

I went up to my seniors and I was like, it wasn’t a loss. That is a good way to end the season. We are leaving the game feeling good. We played a phenomenal game. I think it was probably our best game of the season and I think everyone is feeling great that it wasn’t a win, but it’s better than a loss,” said Nicholls goalkeeper Elizabeth Zepeda.

A scoring-challenged team all season, Nicholls managed a total of only 10 goals all year. When the team did come up with a goal, it generally came from Andre. Her first-half goal against Northwestern was her fourth of the season.

Right place at the right time,” Andre said. “I give it all to my teammates. They know how to find me, and we get it done. Brooke (Cox) had the ball and I thought she was going to take a shot and I was just there to follow the rebound, she found me, and I was wide open.”

Nicholls managed the lead despite being outshot 13-1 in the first half.

A big reason was the stellar defensive play of Zepeda. Nine of her 11 saves came in the first half.

“A lot of what was fueling me is that it was our Senior Night,” said Zepeda. “It’s been a rough season watching these girls go through every single game and not getting a result. As a goalkeeper, you are using that, pushing to better for them. We (and fellow goalkeeper (Megan Cook) have been going back and forth for playing time and I felt like this was my game to show this is what I want and that I’m for this team and I want this team to succeed.”

“Liz did an amazing job. It’s the best game she’s played. She really controlled things back there. She made a lot of good saves. The two goals that were scored, they had to earn because she came up big,” Nicholls coach Robert Podeyn said.

“She absolutely killed it. She put her body on the line for us and saved us countless times. There were some close calls where we thought it was going to be in and she was there for it,” Andre said of Zepeda.

On several occasions during the season, Nicholls was tied late in the first period, only to give up a late goal to trail at halftime and see momentum slip away. That was not the case Friday against Northwestern State.

“One thing we talked about at halftime was to not let the level drop. We kept it. It was back and forth. Northwestern was gritty towards the end, and so were we. We managed to pull through with a tie and I’m proud of them,” said Poirrier.

“I think that gave us a really good advantage. Sometimes when we do get scored on 1-0, we kind of go down and teams capitalize on our mistakes in those five minutes. I’m really proud that we never let up and we kept fighting even after we took the lead, and even after they also scored the goals in the second half,” Bonadona said.

Northwestern State, 4-5-1 in the Southland and 6-10-1, got both of its goals from Emily Senatore. Her first tied the match 1-1 at the 67:33 mark.

Nicholls responded quickly on a goal by Koryn Barrett at the 70:12 mark to retake the lead at 2-1.

“I couldn’t have asked for nothing better from this team. We work on corner kicks in practice every day and we always say, ‘when are we going to get a goal on a corner kick,’ and we finally did on our last game, and I’m just so proud,” Bonadona said.

Senatore scored again 25 seconds later for the 2-2 tie.

The two outgoing players each played for five seasons. For Bonadona, despite all the losses, the years went by quickly.

“It definitely goes by quick,’ she said. “A lot of people say these are your best years. I’ve had a great time here. I still remember my days as a freshman and now I’m playing my last game. It does go by quick, so just cherish every moment.”

For those players who are returning, time marches forward.

“I think it was a positive result to end the season because we’ve shown in moments we can play,” Podeyn said. “Now we played a 90-minute game that was more consistent than we played all season.

“Hopefully, we can translate that into having a very productive spring and some good players for next fall, and then come of pick up from here.”