By DAVID ERSOFF, Journal Sports
In the span of 6 ½ hours on Saturday, the Shreveport-Bossier area went from three soccer teams dreaming of state championships to none advancing from LHSAA semifinal playoff games.
High school soccer in the area ended a week earlier than hoped, quite a contrast to last year when the area sent three teams to the finals.
The Benton and Calvary girls were ousted on the road, both to higher-seeded opponents, Calvary losing on penalty kicks after overtime. Loyola’s boys fell at home in a highly competitive matchup of teams seeded 2-3, with a misleading 6-2 final.
In Division IV play, No. 9 Calvary’s Lady Cavaliers started the local slate in Slidell against fourth-seeded Pope John Paul II at 2 p.m. These teams faced each other last year in the playoffs, going all the way to penalty kicks with Calvary winning. This year went the same way, except the PK shootout went to PJP II.
The first half favored the Lady Jaguars in possession and opportunities. Midway through, PJP II was awarded a PK and converted for the 1-0 lead. The Lady Cavaliers started to get more of the ball and had a couple of chances to tie the game before halftime, to no avail.
Just four minutes into the second half Calvary earned a corner kick, and deployed a set play they have thrived on all year. Elizabeth Lee hit a beauty into the box and Addison Stevenson put the tying goal in the back of the net.
Both teams had their chances the rest of the way and through the whole 30 minutes of two overtime periods, but PKs seemed inevitable again for these teams.
The Lady Jaguars won the PK shootout 3-0 and will have a short trip to Hammond for the title game this week.
In Division I, No. 5 Benton faced top-seeded Mt. Carmel, the reigning state champion, at New Orleans’ Pan Am Stadium in a 3 p.m. contest.
Benton fought hard in the first half, employing a defensive posture, to hold the Cubs’ powerful offense at bay, and using their speed in the counterattack. This worked well overall in the first half, with the Lady Tigers right there, going into the break within 1-0.
The second half started fast for the Cubs, scoring early off a corner kick. This required a shift more forward for Benton, which generated some chances at goal, but nothing into the back of the net. Mt. Carmel added an insurance goal late and cruised to the 3-0 win.
The nightcap was a local showcase, with the Division III second-seeded Loyola Flyers hosting No. 3 St. Louis Catholic at Messmer Stadium under the lights at 7. As expected, the crowd was huge, with the home side stands (the only ones used in soccer) pushed close to capacity.
The first half was a bit sloppy for both teams as a 10-15 mph wind wreaked havoc with the ball. Both teams had some chances, with the Saints having a few more dangerous plays on goal. In the later stages of the half, Loyola’s Whit Sample made a beauty of a pass to a streaking Holt Hamilton, who found himself in a 1v1 with the Saints keeper. Hamilton did not disappoint the home crowd, giving the Flyers the 1-0 halftime lead.
The second half started the same, with the Flyers going into the wind, but they started putting passes together and took a 2-0 lead on a goal by Sample with the assist credited to Hamilton.
Within a couple of minutes, the Saints were able to cut the lead in half, on a corner kick. The lead stood for another 10 minutes, but the Saints’ pressure kept coming until they tied the game after a steal close to the Flyers goal.
As the clock ran down Loyola had its best chance at goal, requiring a high level save by the Saints keeper. It just seemed a matter of time that the Flyers would score the game winner. It turned out the opposite happened, with the Saints hitting the back of the net with about 15 minutes remaining.
As the clock ticked down, Loyola coach Wes Kyle moved all-star Bishop Doege up top in an effort to push numbers and skilled players forward.
In soccer the clock on the scoreboard is not the official clock. That’s held by the referee, which is why the clock operator stops the scoreboard timer at two minutes, not to mislead the teams and fans.
During that brief time frame from when the clocked stopped to the end of the game, the Saints put in three goals while the Flyers were pushed forward, making what was an extremely close and competitive 3-2 game to a deceiving 6-2 final that looks like a blowout.
The 2026-27 season starts today for all local teams, three hurting more than the rest, although they each had excellent playoff runs.
Contact David at dersoff@bellsouthl.net
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