Newman boys, Sacred Heart girls win Division IV state soccer championships

Newman outlasts Pope John Paul II 1-0 to claim the Division IV Soccer State Championship! pic.twitter.com/Dc7Y3aDgI2

— LHSAA (@LHSAAsports) February 15, 2022

HAMMOND, La. – Most Americans say that a 1-0 game in soccer is boring.

Well, people who say things like that miss out on great battles like the one that played out between Newman and defending champion Pope John Paul II with a LHSAA Division IV boys state title on the line Monday night ay Strawberry Stadium.

No. 10 seeded Newman netted the only goal just four minutes into the first half when George Villere was able to place corner kick placed on the far side of the penalty box perfectly into his near post.

The Greenies (13-8-3) won what was a furiously fast paced after taking the lead with both teams missing good opportunities to score.

The second half started to get more physical with multiple fouls called on both squads.

Newman’s Kearney Nieset, the Most Outstanding Player of the final, kept his team on the attack despite heavy pressure put on the goal by Pope’s Christian Mire and Patrick Whitehouse.

Jaguars forward Michael Uwaifo was a constant threat but Newman kept him out of the goal. Top-seeded Pope John Paul II (16-2-5) had a few chances in stoppage time but keeper Emmett Paton was able to keep his clean sheet.

No. 7 seed Academy of the Sacred Heart took the Division IV girls championship earlier Monday with a convincing 3-1 victory over No. 4 seed Ouachita Christian.

The Cardinals took a 1-0 lead into the halftime break thanks to a sixth minute goal by sophomore Mary Schmidt in what seemed a game still very much in question.

In the second half, eighth grader VIvian Real, the finals Most Outstanding Player, removed all doubt with a pair of goals.

Led by first-year head coach Mark Mark Dubuisson, Sacred Heart (13-6-2) secured their first soccer state crown since 2013.

Ouachita Christian (13-4-2) continued to fight hard and managed to avoid the shutout but the start of a potential sustained run of winning for ASH may have been unavoidable. The Cardinals have a varsity squad with just one senior.