By DAVID ERSOFF, Journal Sports

Captain Shreve’s girls soccer team earned sole possession of the No. 1 ranking in this week’s Shreveport-Bossier Journal coaches’ poll, and will get a strong challenge to retain that spot.

Shreve’s contest tonight against No. 4 Benton is the first of two top-notch girls matchups this week. Wednesday, No. 2 Loyola squares off against third-ranked Byrd with those battles sure to influence next week’s voting and state power rankings as the playoff season is on the horizon.

Captain Shreve travelled over 1,200 miles last week to face teams in Texas and Mississippi. The travel paid off as the Lady Gators went 3-1, losing 5-0 to a top 6A team in Duncanville from the Dallas metroplex. They had victories over Cedar Hill by 5-0, Bay (Mississippi) in another shutout (2-0) and 2-1 over Gulfport (Miss.), who went to the Magnolia State’s semifinals last year. These results shifted one first-place vote and broke last week’s tie with Loyola by a single point.

Loyola started last week with an impressive 4-1 win against Benton. The Lady Flyers got goals from Saniyah Simo, Ainsley Matlock, Cassier Campbell and Katelyn McNeill. Assists were added by Simo, Campbell and Matlock. Benton’s Erin Flowers scored off a corner from Lanie Machen.

Benton had many opportunities, including a few crossed by freshman Lexi Gabucci that begged to be assists. Goalkeeper Ava Moore had some solid saves that kept the Lady Tigers within striking distance. This Benton team is young and will be a force in the next couple of years and is more than capable of pulling off an upset this year.

When the Lady Tigers travel to Shreve for their district battle Tuesday, it’s a rematch of a game played at the Gator Cup in December, a 2-1 Lady Gators’ win.

Loyola also posted victories over Alexandria (1-0) and Evangel (8-0), going 3-0 in a tough week. If the Lady Flyers best Byrd on Wednesday, a solid win could get them back on top, or a different outcome could give the Lady Jackets their chance to break into the top two, where they have traditionally been.

Last week, Byrd took its yearly trip west to Arlington for a tournament. The Lady Jackets went 2-1 in Texas, with wins over L.D. Bell (2-0) and South Grand Prairie (5-2), with their loss to host Arlington (1-0).

North DeSoto fell in a heartbreaker to West Monroe, on a late goal that went against the run of play in the game. On Saturday, the Lady Griffins hosted D-IV’s top team in the power rankings, undefeated Episcopal of Baton Rouge. They fell 4-0 to last year’s state finalist. The Lady Griffins did however have 3-4 solid chances to score, showing great resilience against such a strong team.

Calvary made its debut in the poll, edging Evangel for the seventh spot.

On the boys’ side, Bossier was able to hold onto the top spot, in what has been a back and forth with Captain Shreve in the last few polls. The Bearkats also went to Texas, falling 2-1 to Duncanville, last year’s 6A regional quarterfinalist,  in a very competitive game.

Shreve, Byrd and Magnet travelled to the EiL college showcase in Lafayette. Shreve went 1-2, beating Acadiana 2-1, after falling to D-I’s top-ranked Catholic 3-0 and Episcopal 5-1. In the Episcopal game, the Gators went down a player in the first few minutes of the game to a red card, spending over 50 minutes with only 10 on the field.

Byrd and Magnet both only played two games each, losing both. Byrd also lost to Catholic (3-0) and New Iberia by 3-1. Magnet fell to St. Louis Catholic 3-2 and Southside 3-1.

Magnet started last week in a scoreless tie with Northwood. The Falcons cashed that tie into just enough votes to break into the poll for the first time this year, edging out a dormant Evangel. 

Contact David at dersoff@bellsouth.net

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