Division III Soccer Finals: The Willow School boys repeat, Parkview girls go extra for three-peat

HAMMOND – Halfway through 2024 state soccer finals week in Louisiana, a line from the Talking Heads classic Once in a Lifetime comes to mind.

Same as it ever was.

With four state finals in the books, the LHSAA has had four repeat champions.

Defending Division III boys champion The Willow School (23-0-4) faced off with No. 3 University High (15-3-5) on a perfect Thursday night for Division III championship soccer at Strawberry Stadium.

The keepers, University’s William Spencer and Willow’s Henry Booker, both patrolled their areas flawlessly.

It appeared we would see our second scoreless regulation of the day when suddenly, it happened.

University’s Granville Anderson, who was superb defensively, could not keep a pass away from versatile attacker Ellett Clum-Stockton with 10 minutes to go.

Ellett did not waste the opportunity and hit a perfect shot into the net. The problem with man-marking is that one misjudged angle or one needle-threading pass is all it takes.

With two minutes left, Gabe Pizzolatto provided the icing on the cake and sealed the deal for Willow in a 2-0 victory.

Check out how @WillowNolaBSoc picked up two late goals to surge past @LSULabSchool in the @LHSAAsports Division III Boy's Soccer Championship match❗ pic.twitter.com/B8PWx38RWM

— LHSAA Network (@lhsaanetworktv) February 23, 2024

The @WillowNolaBSoc Lions cap off their undefeated season with a 2-0 win over University Lab in the Division III state championship game. That's back-to-back titles – 3 total – for the 17 seniors in the program. @WGNOtv @WGNOsports @FNFwgno

Details – https://t.co/6o6F8DXg5W pic.twitter.com/5qJnPWus3z

— Richie Mills (@richiemills) February 23, 2024

Superb defense was no surprise for two teams which had allowed just one goal each in their previous four playoff games.

University had made it clear from the start that they were not going to let Clum-Stockton have any freedom to score on them. They put Anderson to shadow him everywhere he went. To boot, the Cubs also shadowed forward Casey Derham with Vigurie Dylan. It’s an old school tactic but it works.

To score on University, Willow was going to have to win with their midfield or feast on a rare miscue.

Tactics stayed the same on both sides from one half to the other, but the play got more physical with the stakes so high. The referee allowed it until he had to start blowing his whistle more to get all of increasing contact under control.

Both teams were not going to let the other team play their scheme ‘as usual’ with a state crown on the line.

So it started to look like the type of game that would be won or lost with a restart. Balls were starting to be launched into the box, but both keepers were up to the task.

In the first game of the doubleheader, two of arguably the best defensive teams in Louisiana girls soccer met in the the Division III final Thursday at Strawberry Stadium.

Defending state champions Parkview Baptist, the top seed, and St. Louis Catholic, seeded second, were determined to post clean sheets. Both teams had averaged less than one goal allowed all playoffs.

The trend continued in a match to remember.

After a scoreless regulation and the extra periods, Parkview Baptist (27-0-1) took a 5-4 victory in penalty kicks.

Congratulations to the Division III Girls State Champions, Parkview Baptist! 🏆⚽️@PBSAthletics

📸 @GeauxPrepsLA pic.twitter.com/uEFmzNGM4d

— LHSAA (@LHSAAsports) February 23, 2024

What surprised some onlookers was Parkview’s move to pull their starting goalie out for the shootout to put in an accomplished volleyball player Brooklyn Phillips. It wasn’t her first time in that role though. Parkview did the same thing in the semifinals against Archbishop Hannan.

The first two shots went in for both squads before Phillips made the first stop by blocking a shot from Claire Savoie.

Parkview’s Karis Phillippe was stopped with St. Louis keeper Caroline Avery guessed correctly. Phillips was able to stop the sixth kick and Kaitlin Medine got her shot past Avery to win game.

The resulting celebration by Parkview included reveling in the glory of a three-peat.

Parkview Baptist are the Division 3 Girls State Champions! @PBSAthletics went back to back after a 0-0 (5-4 after Penalties) game against St Louis Catholic!

We will be back tomorrow with more coverage of the D2 Finals!

Don’t forget to download the LHSAA Network app today to get… pic.twitter.com/JiaFaG1wUN

— LHSAA Network (@lhsaanetworktv) February 23, 2024

The game started out with both teams feeling each other out for almost 30 minutes.

St. Louis (18-5-2) had the first real chance to score when Adelaide Falvin looked to re-direct the ball past Parkview’s top keeper Claire David off of a corner kick taken by Kylie Pousson.

The second half measured out just like the first but 11 minutes after the break, Sarah Ortlieb took a well-struck shot from 30 yards out that Avery was able to stop. Later, Avery stopped a sure goal by stepping up when Parkview’s Ella Kate Johnston had a breakaway in the penalty area. That was the last real chance for each team to score before overtime, which proved to be as much of a struggle as regulation play.

In the first of a pair of five-minute sudden death periods that followed, Ortlieb had one more shot on target, but again Avery was able to keep the ball out of the net.