Mattingly sweeps away trouble for St. Vincent soccer

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- A late-season injury to a teammate during Kristin Mattingly's sophomore year forced her into St. Vincent's starting lineup.

Mattingly's grip on the sweeper position hasn't loosened since.

The senior serves as the foundation for a defense that only has allowed 13 goals in 24 games and posted 14 shutouts. St. Vincent hasn't allowed a goal in its three postseason games, a roll the Indians hope continues during the Class 1 final four Friday and Saturday at the Anheuser-Busch Center in Fenton, Mo.

"For me as a coach, she provides stability and a safety net," St. Vincent coach Dustin Wengert said. "If we misplay a ball, her speed and her willingness to pretty much have disregard for her body, she's going to do whatever it takes to keep it out of the net. She has been tremendous."

Defense is nothing new to the Mattingly family.

FRED LYNCH flynch@semissourian.com (St. Vincent's Kristin Mattingly kicks the ball away from Perryville's Megan Moldenhauer during a game earlier this season.)

"I've always been really comfortable with defense," Kristin said. "That's the position I've been playing since I was little because my whole family plays defense. I'd go watch all my older sister Theresa's high school games and she always played defense. I think watching her helped a lot. Ever since I was little, I've been playing defense."

Mattingly's presence on the field helps settle some of the younger St. Vincent players. Storm French, who played midfield for most of the season, recently moved back to stopper after an injury to Kayla Seabaugh. French appreciates Mattingly's experience.

"It helps a lot because if I mess up and I do something that I shouldn't have done, she's always there to tell me what I need to do," said French, one of the Indians' standout sophomores. "She's back there to cover my back if I miss the ball, and then we switch positions because I'll cover her back."

Mattingly is able to cover for her teammates because of her blistering speed. It's a gift she didn't realize she possessed until she'd been playing soccer for four or five years.

"I didn't notice it when I was really young," she said. "I wasn't the most coordinated when I was younger. Probably around 9 or 10, I realized I was pretty fast. Whenever we got older, compared to other people, I was like, 'Hey, I'm pretty fast.'"

Now her speed allows her to play more aggressively on defense. She isn't worried about taking a risk because she knows she quickly can recover.

"She may not be the most tactical player, but she is going to get the job done whether it's pretty or not," Wengert said.

Mattingly said it isn't just her speed that allows her to be aggressive. She said that since so many of the Indians are quick, it decreases the danger of playing aggressively.

"If we didn't have so much speed, I definitely would play further back," she said. "But we have the benefit of our whole team has speed. I don't think there's one slow person. We can take a lot more risks, like pulling up the field."

That aggressive style has helped the Indians return to the final four, this time to defend their state crown.

"Last year, it was something that we didn't expect as much, so it was really crazy," she said. "This year, the whole time we were like, 'OK, we've got to get to the final four. We can do it. We know we can this year.' It was a little more expected this year. It's not something many people get to experience. It's a great way to go out in your senior year."

The top-ranked Indians continue their title defense at noon Friday when they face Springfield Catholic, the No. 2 ranked team in the state.

"When you're ranked No. 1, all the teams are going to want to beat you," she said. "We've definitely had pressure on us, but I think that just makes us go out and play harder."

Mattingly's success hasn't been limited to the soccer field. She also played softball and was a diver for the St. Vincent swimming team. In her spare time, she took piano lessons until she stopped last year when she became too busy. None of those activities compared to soccer.

"Soccer has always been my favorite sport," she said.

She's enjoyed the most success in her favorite sport, but there's one thing she hasn't done during her high school career.

She's never scored a goal.

"I've asked coach multiple times if I could play offense," she said. "I just want to get up there and put one in the goal. I've always wanted to get a goal but I never do."

Wengert didn't hesitate when asked about Mattingly playing offense.

"No."

What about in a rout?

"No."

Then he offers an explanation.

"She's too valuable to us back there," he said. "If they go up and play five minutes and get hurt, I'm going to kick myself in the butt."

Mattingly understands.

"It's all right," she said. "He thinks I'd get hurt because I could see myself getting hurt."

Mattingly will study nursing at Maryville University in the fall. She said she's thought about trying to play a sport but instead will concentrate on academics. That means her athletic career will end Friday and Saturday, and she wants to end it with a second consecutive state title.

"It would mean so much to me," she said. "Since we already got it last year, I know we can do it this year. I don't want to go out with anything less this year. I've gotten a taste of what it feels like to hold the state championship trophy, and I don't want to be holding the third place or second place trophy."