By DAVID ERSOFF, Journal Sports
Two local girls high school soccer teams left in the LHSAA soccer championships host semifinal games in Shreveport while the only boys team remaining will travel on Saturday.
The 11th seeded Byrd Lady Jackets (18-10-4) host the 18th seeded Barbe Lady Buccaneers (12-10-4) at 2 p.m. in a Division I match while Division IV No. 2 Loyola (17-6-3) plays host to third-seed Isadore Newman (15-4-1) at 4 p.m. at Messmer Stadium.
In a rematch of last year’s Division III finals, the Bossier Bearkats (18-4-1) travel south to The Willow School (21-0-4) of New Orleans for a 3:30 semifinal matchup at the Brees Family Stadium.
Byrd’s battle with Barbe is the only semifinal that involves two double-digit seeds this year, something that happens very rarely in soccer. These team met in the St Louis Catholic tournament on Dec. 16, with the Lady Jackets winning 3-1. Byrd earned its way here with a second-round overtime upset of No. 6 Southside 4-2 and its much-watched quarterfinal upset of third seeded Captain Shreve 2-0 Tuesday, reversing a 5-1 regular-season loss to the Lady Gators.
Barbe has three upsets to its credit so far in the playoffs, beating No. 15 West Monroe on PKs, No. 2 Denham Springs 1-0 and No. 10 Dominican 1-0 in the quarterfinals.
The Lady Jackets are led by senior midfielder Natalie Dvorakova, who has emerged as one of the best players in the state. The high-level players don’t stop there. Forward MyJoi Anderson has been a force to reckon with most of the season. With experienced midfielders and defenders like Miya Crawford, Khaela Roraback and Catie Miller roaming the field, Byrd is poised to get back to the finals for the first time since 2016.
Loyola, playing in its sixth semifinals in a row, faces the reigning state champions in the Lady Greenies. These teams did not play each other this year, but did have two common opponents, Archbishop Hannan and Mt. Carmel. Loyola tied both teams, while Newman beat both by a single goal. Any advantage this might suggest, would be negated with Newman having to travel and play in front of a normally large and loud Flyer cheering section.
The Flyers are led by Louisiana Tech signee Mary Helen Burford, Cassie Campbell, Ansley Matlock and Maggie Googe, who scored the lone goal in the quarterfinals win over Pope John Paul II on Tuesday. Striker Saniyah Sino is healthier and ready for more playing time in this game. Senior goalie Millicent Mascagni has been manning the net for the last three years and is battle tested against the best this state can offer. This will be a nailbiter from start to finish.
In the highly anticipated rematch of last year’s finals, the Bossier Bearkats head to Metairie to play The Willow School Lions.
Bossier coach Orlando Medelin doesn’t wince about matching up with the Lions in the semis instead of the finals.
“If we want to be the state champions, we have to go through the Willow School. It doesn’t matter what round we face them in,” said Medelin.
The Bearkats have played some quality soccer throughout the year, out-possessing and outshooting their opponents by a wide margin but the ‘Kats haven’t scored as many goals this year as expected. Since the playoffs started, the Bearkats have turned that around, scoring 14 goals in three games including three against 12th-seeded Belaire in the quarterfinals.
They will need to keep up that trend to win this match. Bossier only conceded 10 goals this season, easily attributed to keeper Logan Bamberg and center defenders Jean Carlos Contreras and Osmond Padilla. Offensively for the Bearkats, it starts with David Rojas, who has been a leader on and off the field and is the 2024 Bossier High School Student of the Year. Rojas will be looking to Alexis Serrano, Oscar Alvarenga and Wilson Alvarado for offensive support.