By DAVID ERSOFF, Journal Sports
It’s Christmas week so local high school soccer competition has briefly paused, following an impactful series of contests around town and down south last week.
Girls action on the pitch for local teams was highlighted by a battle the top two teams in last week’s Shreveport-Bossier Journal coaches poll, when top-ranked Benton went to Messmer Stadium to face No. 2 Loyola.
The game was controlled by the 15-mph wind that gave each team the advantage when downwind.
The Lady Tigers started the game with the wind and were able to take advantage of that when Eden Whiteman scored the game’s only goal with the assist created by Lanie Machen, when she hit a perfect weighted pass just over the defense to the streaking Whiteman.
The Lady Flyers did not lay down. When it was their turn with the wind, they pressured the Lady Tigers throughout the second half, but they just were not able to break through. Benton improved to 12-2 while Loyola slipped to 5-3-1.
It’s funny how a round ball can bounce one way or another, and sometimes you can only hope that it bounces your way, especially when facing a team as good as you are. The boys teams from Loyola and Bossier hosted state top four-ranked St. Louis Catholic this past weekend, and the ball bounced Loyola’s way, but not for Bossier.
Both the Flyers and the Bearkats controlled most of the action against the Saints. Both games ended 1-0, and both turned on two plays.
The Flyers got a penalty kick, due to a hand ball in the box, with 10 minutes left in the game Whit Sample calmly converted the penalty. With just a few minutes left in the game, the Saints were awarded a penalty of their own, and their penalty kick sailed just over the crossbar preserving Loyola’s 1-0 win.
Early in Bossier’s contest with the Saints, Bearkats midfielder Wilson Alvarado slotted a beauty of a pass to forward Luca Stifuentes, who sprinted towards goal. Unfortunately his shot sailed just over the crossbar. Less than a minute later the Saints had one of their few shots on goal, and it went just inside the post to be the margin in Bossier’s 1-0 loss.
Caddo Magnet jumped into a second-place tie with Bossier in the SBJ coaches boys poll, after going 1-1-1 at the Copa Acadiana tournament. The Mustangs tied Beau Chene 0-0, lost 3-1 to Central Lafourche and beat North Vermilion 1-0.
Captain Shreve gained ground in the poll by beating Bossier last Monday and going 2-0-1 at the Copa, beating St. Amant 3-0, St. Michaels 2-1 and tying H.L. Bourgeois 1-1.
The Benton Tigers went 1-2 at the Copa, beating DeRidder 3-0 before falling to Hahnville 2-1 and Catholic of Baton Rouge 5-0.
Byrd’s Lady Jackets moved back into second in the SBJ’s coaches girls poll with a solid weekend at the Copa, with two wins and a tie. Byrd beat North Vermilion 4-0 and Sulphur 1-0, before tying Teurlings Catholic 0-0.
The Lady Gators had an odd week of games, losing 8-0 to Dutchtown then beating Lutcher 8-0, to finish their 2025 slate.
Calvary’s Lady Cavaliers also went to the Copa last weekend, finishing 1-1-1 in the event. Calvary started with a 0-0 draw with Alexandria, then fell 2-0 to University Lab. They salvaged their weekend by defeating Northlake Christian 4-0, making the bus ride home a happier trip.
All local soccer teams have taken a break this week, so there will be no SBJ coaches poll next week. Instead, look for a review of how the teams stack up at the midway point in the LHSAA power rankings.
Here are both coaches poll results heading into Christmas:
Week 6 SBJ boys poll listing school (W-L-T record) points (first place votes):
1, Loyola (5-3-2), 25 (5)
T2, Bossier (6-5-2), 12
T2, Magnet (6-2-2), 12
4, Shreve (5-6-2), 10
5, Benton (6-5-2), 9
Others receiving votes: Byrd (4), Calvary (3)
Week 6 SBJ girls poll listing school (W-L-T record) points (first place votes):
1, Benton (12-2-0), 25 (5)
2, Byrd (7-3-3), 20
3, Loyola (5-3-1), 16
4, Shreve (10-1-1), 9
5, Calvary (9-4-1), 4
Others receiving votes: Magnet (1)
Contact David at dersoff@bellsouth.net