CHESTERFIELD – Vicky Derdoy dreamt of this moment for four years – a moment that nearly never happened.
A University of Albany field hockey commit, Derdoy had her thumb broken in seven places by a field hockey ball in late February. She had surgery, had four pins placed in her thumb and began a two-month recovery.
Her mother did not want her to play lacrosse this spring. Her doctor was shocked she was even considering it.
“I love both sports the same and I love both teams the same. I wanted to be there. I didn’t want to miss it,” Derdoy said.
Derdoy scored four goals, then played an expert game of keep-away in the final minutes as Ladue stunned top-seeded John Burroughs 11-10 in a Missouri Scholastic Lacrosse Association semifinal Wednesday at Parkway West High.
No. 5 Ladue (14-3), playing in its second final four and first since 2012, will face No. 2 Eureka (18-1) for the state title at 1 p.m. Saturday at Parkway West.
Eureka overcame a three-goal halftime deficit to defeat defending champion Cor Jesu 10-8 in the other semifinal to earn its fifth consecutive championship game appearance.
Cor Jesu (12-4) will face John Burroughs (13-3) at 11 a.m. Saturday in the third-place game.
Derdoy missed the start of the lacrosse season, which included a 13-2 loss to Saturday’s championship opponent Eureka. She returned in April wearing a cast on her left hand.
“There was a lot I had to work through mentally playing with one hand, figuring out what works for me and what I needed to adjust. I really had to switch up my shot,” Derdoy said.
Derdoy played the entire regular season one-handed and still scored 40 goals. Just prior the playoffs, she had the cast reduced to a splint and began playing with both hands again.
“My injury gave me a new perspective – a new mindset of just how special it is and just how few games we get, knowing the season is so short,” Derdoy said.
With Ladue leading 11-10 in the final minutes Wednesday, Derdoy’s hands squeezed and rotated her stick as she weaved through John Burroughs double and triple teams, with no intention of relinquishing possession the ball.
“I was just running for my life,” Derdoy said. “I felt it was better to keep it my stick and run until I couldn’t run any more than risk a turnover.”
It seemed to be business as usual for John Burroughs to open the game. Goals by Kate Logsdon and Jane Dunaway 30 seconds apart gave the Bombers a quick 2-0 lead, and the draw unit of Logsdon, Dunaway and Azin Mofidi were dominating possession time.
John Burroughs also found space within the heart of Ladue’s zone defense. Dunaway and Reese Rafferty powered right through the middle to score, and a slick pass from Devon Gable to a cutting Flynn Englesmann gave the Bombers five first quarter goals.
Only a pair of tough goals from Derdoy and a steal and breakaway from Sadie Steinbach kept Ladue from facing a huge early deficit, and the game entered the second quarter with John Burroughs leading 5-3.
“We were so nervous coming into this game,” Ladue coach Carrie Lampe said. “Burroughs is an incredible opponent. Everything they do is tactically sound and they are so disciplined. We knew if we were going to win, we were going to have the best game we’ve ever had.”
And that drive to perfection began midway through the second quarter. Colette Brennan found a rhythm with her self-draw technique, Trudy Richardson scored twice, and the once leaky Ladue zone defense shut down all avenues within its center.
Derdoy’s bouncing shot late in the quarter gave Ladue its first lead, 7-6 at halftime.
“To be honest, we just started playing harder,” Lampe said.
John Burroughs emerged from the second half in another gear, but point-blank shots by Dunaway and Logsdon were turned away by Ladue freshman goalie Lillian Schappe, and a breakaway attempt from Rafferty, the Butler-commit and 76-goal scorer, ended up in Schappe’s catching net.
“I really don’t give her much coaching at all, that is her talent,” Lampe said of Schappe. “She is so spunky and spazzy in the best way possible.”
The only goals yielded in the third quarter by the spunky Schappe were free position shots, two by Logsdon and one by Rafferty, and Ladue clung to a 10-9 lead after three quarters.
Rafferty’s goal midway through the fourth quarter tied it at 10, but Ladue made championship-level plays in the closing minutes. Schappe saved a low laser from Dunaway, Brennan drew a charge in the defensive zone and sophomore Irene Murphy converted a goal in traffic with 3:37 remaining to give Ladue an 11-10 lead.
Then, Derdoy took the ball and took the Rams’ home. With two and sometimes three Bombers chasing her, Derdoy drifted towards the sideline, sometimes calling for help, and then exploded past them to the other side of the field where she would repeat the task.
Twice, the Bombers dislodged the ball from her stick. Twice, Derdoy and her semi-functional left thumb reclaimed possession and continued her game of keep-away.
The clock struck zeroes with Ladue still in possession of the ball, and a celebration of jubilation mixed with disbelief ensued.
“It is my dream for them to get to (play for a championship). I’m genuinely so proud for them and so happy for them,” Lampe said.
As for Derdoy, whose season ended in the state quarterfinal round four consecutive times in field hockey and lacrosse before this spring, the opportunity to play for a championship is a blessing.
“I couldn’t make it past the elite eight. I was starting to think I was cursed, but I finally broke it,” Derdoy said. “I never thought I’d be in this position. It’s a dream come true.”
For a photo gallery of this game: click the link below: