By DAVID ERSOFF, Journal Sports
Loyola’s 13th annual Flyer Invitational brought in some powerful girls soccer teams from around the state including University Lab, Baton Rouge Magnet, Lakeshore, Archbishop Hannan, West Monroe, and upstart Zachary.
The south Louisiana teams braved the ride up Interstate 49 that seems to only flow southward when it comes to prep sporting events.
After lots of intersectional competition, there was no change in the pecking order of the Shreveport-Bossier Journal coaches’ poll, although the gap between first and third widened from the tight bunch in the preseason.
Benton played four games in the Flyer Invitational, beginning Thursday with an 8-0 win over Sterlington. On Friday, the Lady Tigers fell 4-1 to a powerful Hannan team that is primed to take the D-III state title this year.
Benton finished its tournament with a close 2-1 win over D-III 2025 finalist University Lab, and a lopsided 6-0 win over Baton Rouge.
Byrd, who dipped from two first place votes to one this week, had an up and down tournament. The Lady Jackets also played four games, starting with a 6-0 win over West Ouachita on Thursday. Friday, the Lady Jackets found out how good this year’s Zachary team is, escaping with a 1-1 tie. On Saturday the Lady Jackets fell to Hannan, before a hard fought 2-2 tie with University Lab.
The Loyola Lady Flyers kept with the trend of playing four tourney games this year as Byrd and Benton did. Loyola lost a heartbreaker to West Monroe, despite having dominated all game. A penalty kick was given to the Lady Rebels and converted, providing the 1-0 final score. On Friday University Lab took control early, never letting Loyola get in a rhythm, winning 4-1.
Saturday was a better day for the Lady Flyers, as they beat Sterlington 5-0 before fighting Lakeshore to the end, securing a 1-1 tie.
Captain Shreve had the weekend after playing three early week games. The Lady Gators beat Northwood 8-0, Sterlington 5-0 and Ouachita Parish 9-1.
Calvary played the more traditional three tournament games, starting with a 1-0 victory over Lakeshore, secured with many quality saves by keeper Anna Sarkozi. After taking Friday off to watch their football team advance in the playoffs, the Lady Cavaliers faced Hannan, falling 3-1. Calvary finished the weekend on a high note, beating Ouachita Parish 2-0.
Caddo Magnet’s Lady Mustangs struggled over the weekend after beating Ouachita Parish 6-2 on Thursday night. Magnet fell 4-2 to Baton Rouge Magnet Friday night before losing to West Monroe 4-0 on Saturday.
The few games scheduled for this week, all on Monday night, were washed out by the storms. With no action to assess, the SBJ coaches’ poll will resume in two weeks.
The Week 1 SBJ girls’ soccer poll listing school (W-L-T record) points (first place votes):
1, Benton (4-1-0), 24 (4)
2, Byrd (2-1-2), 20 (1)
3, Loyola (2-2-1), 14
4, Shreve (3-0-0), 10
5, Calvary (3-1-0), 6
Others receiving votes: Magnet (1).
Contact David at dersoff@bellsouth.net