Lafayette Jeff soccer continues upward trend as postseason nears

LAFAYETTE - This is why Alyssa Mitchem wanted to coach at Lafayette Jeff.

Some that it was perhaps a bit odd she'd resign as head coach of West Lafayette's girls soccer program, one loaded with tradition and success, to take over the Bronchos, where winning seasons were rare and championships even more so.

Mitchem knew, though, that it's possible to win at Lafayette Jeff and said as much when she departed from West Side following a sectional championship in her only season to take over a program that's won just two sectional titles in its history.

Her intuition proved true.

Lafayette Jeff went 12-5 in 2020, then 8-8-1 in an injury-riddled season a year ago.

But after losing nine seniors from last year's roster, surely the Bronchos would slide.

No so much.

"We lost a lot of seniors last year that were key players, a lot of them four-year varsity players," Mitchem said. "I've had girls step up massively this year. I am really impressed. The amount of work they've put in this season and their commitment to winning is huge. "

On Thursday night, Lafayette Jeff spoiled Faith Christian's senior night.

After both teams went scoreless for nearly 72 minutes, Asharia Hernandez found Janeli Diaz-Gaeta for a goal. Thirty-three seconds later, she connected with Elise Medrano for another in Jeff's 2-0 victory that improved the Bronchos to 9-3-1.

"I respect Dave's (Ungaro) program a ton and I knew it was going to be tough for us to score on them. I was very impressed we were able to put two in on a really good team like this that is ranked in the state and has a good chance of going very deep in 1A."

Mitchem's return to the Broncho sidelines in 2020 brought continuity.

She coached the Tecumseh Middle School program from 2016-18. Minus the 2019 season at West Lafayette, she's been a part of developing her current roster for six years.

"For me personally, having a coach who has been there and knows everything we've been through is helpful," senior defender Annie Hahn said. "I think we really feel the support from her."

The Bronchos began the season with a 7-1 record, with the lone loss against Zionsville.

But it was somewhat deceiving.

"The whole season we had been playing easy teams," said junior Asharia Hernandez, whose 25 goals this season are a Bronchos girls soccer record. "We were used to winning and scoring five goals a game."

The turning point came Sept. 6 at Loeb Stadium.

West Lafayette was supposed to pose a challenge to see where the Bronchos matched up locally.

The Red Devils scored five goals in the first half and went on to win 6-0.

"The only challenging team we played before that was Zionsville really," senior Katie Baumgartner said. "Playing West Side, who is local, put us in the mood for Harrison."

Harrison, the team in recent years that has been the bar for local girls soccer programs.

Two days after getting dismantled by West Lafayette, Jeff played the two-time defending sectional champion Raiders to a 0-0 tie. McCutcheon, which lost to Faith Christian 1-0 earlier this week, made the postseason appear interesting with a 3-1 victory over Jeff a week ago.

There's a belief that, for the first time since 2010, Lafayette Jeff could win a sectional championship in a bracket that is wide open. Come Sunday night, the Bronchos - along with every other team in the state - will learn their tournament path through the sectional, which starts Oct. 4.

Unlike last year, the Bronchos are trending in the right direction and, for now, injury free.

"Being in games with teams like Harrison has always been our goal," Mitchem said. "Holding Harrison 0-0 was a big deal for us. We hadn't done that in 13 years."

"These girls have pushed themselves every practice harder than any team I have ever coached before and it is showing up in games."

Sam King covers sports for the Journal & Courier. Email him at sking@jconline.com and follow him on Twitter and Instagram @samueltking.

This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: Lafayette Jeff soccer continues upward trend as postseason nears