By TOMMY REZAC
St. Joseph Post
FAUCETT - Freshman Kendall Cathcart sent a hard shot across Mid-Buchanan's 18-yard box in the first half, which caught the wind perfectly and sailed into the top of the Dragons' net.
That shot wound up being the difference, as No. 5 Bishop LeBlond (9-5) played tenacious defense throughout in a 1-0 win at No. 1 Mid-Buchanan on Tuesday.
Cathcart scored the matches' only goal with 13:36 left in the first half.
"Kendall works so hard," LeBlond head coach Chad Thompson said. "For the first part of the season, she wasn't shooting, and I was like, 'You have got to start shooting!' and I think she's had 7-8 goals in the past three games. She is a work horse, she hustles, hits the ball with both feet. Pretty physical on defense and offense. She'll be a pleasure to coach over the next several years."
The match was largely a defensive chess match, if not stale mate, as the Dragons (14-3-1) were held without a shot-on-goal in the first half.
"The girls played really well," Thompson added. "The first half, I think we did a little bit better with possession. We had moments of playing kickball back and forth, but overall, really really pleased with how they played. I like where we're at."
LeBlond managed six shots-on-goal in the match, and Mid-Buchanan goalie Mallie Lieffring finished with five saves.
The Dragons turned up the aggression on offense in the last 20 or so minutes, and had a few attacks toward the LeBlond goal, reeling off three shots-on-goal in the final 40 minutes.
Still, nothing came to fruition, as LeBlond goalkeeper Maddie Sego had three saves, including a diving stop to save a groundball attempt from Mid-Buch's Jordan Thornton with 19:30 remaining.
The Eagles disrupted the Dragons' offense all day, plugging gaps and winning balls throughout.
"It's really about talking to each other," said sophomore defender Lia Pinkelman, "and making sure we're communicating with each other and letting each other know the backs and the fronts and covering. So, it's supporting each other."
LeBlond, which has now won three of its last four matches after a 3-3 start to the season, has some newfound momentum with the Class 1 District 8 tournament coming up May 16.
Mid-Buchanan, though, is the host site of that bracket, and there's pretty strong odds that the Eagles and Dragons will clash for a district title for a third straight season.
Whatever happens, LeBlond was more than happy to take one from the Dragons Tuesday, especially since the Eagles lost 1-0 the last time they played in Faucett. And that was for a district title last May.
"It's going to be a pusher," Pinkelman said of the win. "They beat us in the past, we beat them this time. So, we can beat other teams who have beat us in the past."
"Can't overlook them for sure," Thompson added on Mid-Buch.
LeBlond is home to Cameron next Tuesday. Mid-Buchanan is home to Guadalupe Charters Center on Wednesday at 5 p.m.
You can follow Tommy on Twitter @TommyKFEQ and St. Joseph Post @StJosephPost.