ARGOS - LaVille knew that in order to defend its 2024 IHSAA Class 1A girls soccer title, it was going to be a battle once again against #18 Culver Community to repeat as sectional champs. Prior to Saturday night, the Cavaliers shut out the Lancers, 3-0, on September 24.  So the LaVille coaching staff used the match and game film to help with a plan of attack. "Yeah so we watched film on them for hours developing a plan to be able to stop them," said LaVille coach Kevin Christy. "Culver has big, strong athletes. We knew it was going to be a tough match." Saturday, Culver pushed the LaVille defense and had several opportunities to score in the first 80 minutes of the match.  The two teams then battled through two seven-minute overtime periods with no scoring.  Which led to penalty kicks. Each coach selects five players from their team to kick the ball from the hash-mark on the field, which is marked 12 yards away. After the first five players, each team had one kicker convert a shot.  Then beginning on the sixth attempt, each team uses a different player to convert a shot.  Culver shot first and missed with this shot sailing over the crossbar. In this case, since Culver did not convert, if LaVille's attempt was successful, the Lancers would be declared the winner.  LHS senior Kelsi Andert calmly placed the ball, withdrew to her spot on the field to execute the kick.  When the whistle blew, she kicked the ball into the top, left hand corner of the net for the difference and helped the Lancers defend its 2024 sectional title. The official score: LaVille 0 Culver 0 followed by 2-1 in PKs as the Lancers celebrate as back-to-back sectional champions and advanced to the IHSAA regional semifinal round.  That match is scheduled for October 16 at Bremen starting at 5 p.m.  The LHS-BHS winner will advance to the 1A regional championship October 18 at 4 p.m. against either Boone Grove or Wheeler. The match is scheduled to be played at Westview High school. "To win it in PKs is just super special," said LaVille coach Kevin Christy, who watched his team, along with the student section and Lancer Nation celebrate on the field together. "As the game goes on and we go into PKs, we start with five players. If the score is still tied,  we move from there. Over the couple of weeks, we have practiced a lot of PKs with (goalkeeper Denni) Markin in there.  We adjusted our line up a little, but Kelsi was our sixth kicker no matter what. I had all the confidence in the world that Kelsi would make it. "She is just a great kid," Christy continued of his senior defender.  "An example would be that on our way out to the bus, Kelsi and I saw the Argos AD was in the bleachers picking up trash and stuff laying around. She stopped with me and she picked up trash. She is a leader ... first on the bus making sure things are in order and last one off the bus, making sure we have everything." LaVille was coming off a 11-7 record, a sectional trophy, and the loss of the 'Senior Six'. As the 2025 season began, Christy's crew lined up with 20 players, nine of which were freshmen, so there was a little learning curve for the entire team. "We lost a good handful of the heart of the team (last season)," explained Christy.  "It's somewhat a testament to the team.  So this is what we do, we are going to compete, allowing us to continue to trend up. We are going to give it everything we got. We knew it was the same as last year, you've got kids that wanna get better. We might have a young team with however many kids are in each class.  They just want to do it right." We also had the chance to talk with senior Claire Wainscott following the sectional finals. "I thought overall, we played pretty well," said Wainscott. "We lost to them in the regular season and we knew we had to come and play 80. Maybe more." And how was the team headed into extra time? "We were pretty hyped for overtime," said Wainscott.  "Then we were nervous about PKs. Overall we got good shots and we have a really good goalie, so we were pretty confident. "This feels good and I'm glad the freshmen get to experience it." After a regular season with learning curves, "as coaches we look at it like, are we getting better? That answer was 'yes' and that is what it is always about ... getting better." Culver's best chance to win the game in regulation came near the three-minute mark of regulation when the Lancers were whistled for a questionable foul inside the penalty box.  The Cavalier coaching staff selected Bre Hamilton for the PK, but the shot sailed over the crossbar to keep the score tied 0-0. CCHS outshot LaVille during a physical and defensive-filled title contest. "I knew the girls had the ability," said the Lancer boss.  "They played well, played hard. I am so proud of them all. " LaVille (8-9-1) advanced to the IHSAA regional semifinal round against conference and neighborhood rival Bremen (14-3-1).  That match is scheduled for October 16 at Bremen starting at 5 p.m.  The LHS-BHS winner will advance to the 1A regional championship October 18 at 4 p.m. against either Boone Grove (10-7-1) or Wheeler (10-7-1). The match is scheduled to be played at Westview High school. LaVille 0, Culver Community 0 (LaVille wins 2-1 PKs) At Argos Score By Halves               1  2   OT  OT  LaVille  0 0     0    0  - 0 Culver    0 0     0    0  - 0 Shots: LaVille 4 Culver 10 Corner Kicks: LaVille 1 Culver 4 Goalie Saves: LaVille (Denni Markin) 10 Culver (Alyviah Williams) 4 Team Records: LaVille 8-9-1, Culver Community 16-1 (final) Next Match: Oct 16 LaVille v Bremen in IHSAA Regional Semifinal at Jane's Park, 5PM