By DOUG IRELAND, Journal Sports
HAMMOND – When the Loyola boys soccer team kicks off today at 5 against Baton Rouge’s University Lab in the LHSAA Division IV state championship game, the Flyers will fulfill the promise they displayed in an early-season contest.
Loyola and U-High drew 1-1 in a Nov. 15 meeting at Messmer Stadium. It paired programs with plenty of state championship game experience – today, the Flyers will play in the finals for the fifth time, and the Cubs are in their fifth title game in the last seven seasons.
But it wasn’t THAT pre-Thanksgiving matchup that Loyola coach Wes Kyle points to as the signal that his Flyers were ready to improve on last year’s quarterfinal appearance. Four days after hosting U-High, Loyola went to Caddo Magnet and dominated in a 3-0 victory Nov. 19 that sticks out as the turning point in the season.
“We had a great run in November with a lot of the down-south teams that came up here and we were successful against all of them,” Kyle said, “but in the Caddo Magnet game, the way we played, the way we possessed the ball, the way we moved the ball and played keepaway for 80 minutes, you got the idea, ‘holy cow, we’re really good.’ We built on that.”
The Flyers entered the playoffs seeded No. 1, and own a 20-2-6 record. The Cubs are second seeded with a 20-2-2 mark heading into the late afternoon rematch at Strawberry Stadium on the Southeastern Louisiana University campus.
“It’s extremely exciting, a culmination of all the hard work we’ve been doing since June, the intense practice sessions,” said Kyle. “Everything’s come together and this is why we’ve worked so hard to reach this point.”
Loyola had to expend extra effort to earn the opportunity, coming from behind three times Friday night for a 4-3 semifinal win at home over upset-minded 12th-seeded Archbishop Hannon. The energy and emotion spent must be rekindled, and Kyle is confident it will be.
“That’s the challenge, getting them geared up for another wild ride that we know is going to happen again on Wednesday. The difference with this team as opposed to a lot of other teams is we’ve got kids who play in Spain, in California, in Florida, and they’re used to big-game atmospheres.
“They’ve been doing it since they were 10-11 years old, versus a lot of other kids playing just normal club soccer. Those have experienced championship games too, but we have 3-4 who have been on a bigger stage and know how to deal with pressure. I think everybody will look to them as a calming influence on our team.”
It’s the Flyers’ first state final since 2019. Loyola won a state crown in 1996 over Baton Rouge High when Kyle was an eighth-grade ballboy, and captured another in 2000 beating Parkview Baptist in his senior year after he provided the game-winning goal in a semifinal win at Country Day.
“State championship is what you always aim for, but we didn’t really talk about being in the final game. We were focused on steps to get to the point where we would be able to compete for that,” he said. “We were very process-oriented in the beginning. Once you get closer and closer, that’s all the kids think about, all the team talks about.”
But the coach said this team has surpassed his expectations.
“We had the talent, but as young as we are, I never really thought we would be in this position,” he admitted.
The game can be seen on the NFHS Network and the LHSAA Network.
Contact Doug at sbjdoug@gmail.com