Jesuit, Holy Cross, Willow School, SSA, Ben Franklin, Newman reach state soccer finals

Most area teams on the pitch Saturday thrived with six schools advancing to state championship matches in Hammond later this week.

In girls Division I semifinal action, No. 4 seed St. Scholastica edged No. 8 Mount Carmel Academy 1-0 at home Saturday.

Carlie Perrin scored the game-winner on a free kick from about 25 yards out in the 38th minute to propel the Doves to the big win.

The Doves (20-2-5) are in search of their eighth state championship and first since 2019. St. Scholastica will square off with No. 11 Byrd in the title match next Saturday at 5 p.m. at Strawberry Stadium. The Yellow Jackets downed No. 18 Barbe 1-0.

In Division II, No. 7 Ben Franklin went to No. 3 Terrebonne and whipped the Tigers 6-2 to advance to the final.

Chloe Bunton put on a show with an incredible four-goal performance.

Bunton had a hat trick in the first half while Tatum Duncan added the fourth goal. Bunton and Duncan each added a goal in the second half to make it 6-0 and the Falcons cruised to victory.

Ben Franklin (15-8-1) advances to the title match to take on top seed St. Thomas More Friday at 5 p.m. at Strawberry Stadium.

In Division III, top seeded Parkview Baptist outlasted No. 5 Archbishop Hannan 4-2 on penalty kicks in Baton Rouge.

The two evenly matched sided were scoreless in regulation and through two overtime periods before the Eagles prevailed.

Both goalkeepers were a huge part of the story. Claire David was outstanding for Parkview Baptist while Hannan’s Rylie Schubert was superb.

Macey Theriot put in the match-clinching penalty kick for the Eagles.

Parkview Baptist (26-0-1) remained unbeaten and advances to the title match to take on No. 2 St. Louis Catholic Thursday at 5 p.m. at Strawberry Stadium. The Saints shut out No. 3 St. Michael 2-0.

In Division IV, No. 3 seed and defending state champion Newman advanced to the championship match with a 1-0 win over No. 2 Loyola Prep at Messmer Stadium in Shreveport.

Sara Cordova put in the lone goal off a free kick in the first half and the goal stood up.

Newman (16-4-2), which owns the most state titles in LHSAA history among girls squads, advances to face No. 1 seed Episcopal Wednesday at 5 p.m. at Strawberry Stadium in quest of a 14th state championship.

In boys action, top-seed Jesuit edged No. 4 Dutchtown 1-0 at Lafreniere Park.

Aidan Obletz scored the lone goal in the first half on a header in the 17th minute and the Jesuit defense and goalkeeping, a staple of success all season long, made it stand up. Larson Klibert and Andrew Duncan split time in goal, as they have all season, and posted the clean sheet.

It was the 18th shutout win for the Blue Jays this season.

Jesuit (20-1-2), which is tied with St. Louis Catholic for the most LHSAA boys state titles ever with 13, advances to the state championship match to face No. 2 Catholic of Baton Rouge in the title match Saturday at 7:30 p.m. at Strawberry Stadium.

The Bears edged No. 6 St. Paul’s 1-0.

Chris Day broke a scoreless tie in the 70th minute for Catholic (22-0-1) to oust the defending state champion. Catholic, which won the state title in 2021 and 2022, is in the title match for the fourth time in five years and is in search for its sixth state championship. Chris Kennedy had a clean sheet in goal.

St. Paul’s finished 16-3-5.

Jesuit and Catholic played to a 2-2 tie on Jan. 13. The Blue Jays edged the Bears 1-0 in the Division I regional round in 2018.

In Division II, top seed Holy Cross edged No. 5 Neville 1-0. The Tigers advance to face No. 3 Ben Franklin Friday at 7:30 p.m. at Strawberry Stadium.

In Division III, defending state champion and No. 1 seed The Willow School remained unbeaten, edging No. 4 Bossier 1-0 at Brees Family Field to advance to the final

Maddox Mailho scored the lone goal for the Lions in the first half on a header. Booker Henry posted a clean sheet in goal.

The Willow School (22-0-4) will be in search of a third state title in four years when it squares off with No. 3 University Lab in the title match Thursday at 7:30 p.m. at Strawberry Stadium.

In Division IV, No. 8 seed and defending state champion Episcopal outlasted No. 10 Newman 4-3 on penalty kicks at Lupin Field.

The teams played to a 1-1 tie through regulation and two overtime periods.

Luke Stelly got a stop on a final penalty kick attempt by the Greenies to secure the dramatic win.

Alex Dulitz put Newman on top with a goal in the first half before Alden Romano scored on a header with less than 10 minutes left in regulation to tie it.

Episcopal (12-8-3) is in the title match for the fourth time in five years. The Knights will take on No. 2 seed Episcopal of Acadiana Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. at Strawberry Stadium.

Prep Playoff Soccer Results from Saturday, Feb. 18

Girls

Division I

(4) St. Scholastica 1, (8) Mount Carmel Academy 0

(11) Byrd 1, (18) Barbe 0

Division II

(7) Ben Franklin 6, (3) Terrebonne 2

Division III

(1) Parkview Baptist 0, (5) Archbishop Hannan 0 (Parkview Baptist wins 4-2 on PK’s)

(2) St. Louis Catholic 2, (3) St. Michael 0

Division IV

(3) Newman 1, (2) Loyola Prep 0

Boys

Division I (1) Jesuit 1, (4) Dutchtown 0

(2) Catholic (BR) 1, (6) St. Paul’s 0

Division II (1) Holy Cross 1, (5) Neville 0

Division III (1) Willow School 1, (4) Bossier 0

Division IV

(8) Episcopal 1, (5) Newman 1 (Episcopal wins 4-3 on penalty kicks)