Prep Soccer Playoff Report: St. Paul’s, Jesuit, Holy Cross, Northlake Christian advance to finals

There will be seven New Orleans area teams playing for state championships at Cajun Field in Lafayette later this week.

After St. Scholastica, Mandeville and Newman punched their tickets on the girls side Friday, St. Paul’s, Jesuit, Holy Cross and Northlake Christian did so on the boys side on Saturday.

At Hunter Stadium, the top-seeded Wolves handled fourth-seed Lafayette 3-0 to advance to the Division I final.

John Gardner put the Wolves (26-2) on top to stay with a goal in the 10^th minute before Michael Dufour made it 2-0 before the first half concluded.

James Bradford added an insurance goal in the second half for the Wolves. The Lions end their season 18-2-9.

In search of a fifth consecutive state championship, St. Paul’s will face a very familiar opponent in Jesuit in the final.

The 15th-seeded Blue Jays went on the road for a third straight time and shutout Byrd 2-0 in Shreveport.

Chris Tadros scored on a long ball late in the first half to put the Blue Jays (23-3-6) on top before Preston Bordes got the insurance goal in the 45^th minute for Jesuit. Shane Lanson pitched a shutout in goal for the Blue Jays, vastly under-seeded at 15^th.  The Yellow Jackets end their season 23-5-2.

The two powers will collide for the fifth time in the last eight years in the championship match.

St. Paul’s defeated Jesuit twice in the regular season, winning by identical 2-0 scores on Nov. 14 and Dec. 22.

The Wolves beat Jesuit 3-0 in the 2015 final and 2-1 in the 2011 final. Jesuit downed the Wolves 2-1 in the final in 2013, won 3-2 in 2012 and 2-0 in 2007. St. Paul’s and Jesuit have combined to win the last nine Division I state titles.

In Division II, top-seed Holy Cross returns to the state title match for the second time in three years after an impressive 3-0 victory over fourth-seeded Ruston at Pan American Stadium.

After a scoreless first half, Ethan Jones broke the deadlock with a goal early in the second half before Ethan Garvey put home another to make it 2-0. Sebastian Aguilar capped the scoring with a goal in the 77^th minute for the Tigers (19-3-2). Thomas Dugal posted a clean sheet in goal for Holy Cross.

The Bearcats ended their fine season 16-2-3.

Holy Cross advances to face second-seed Beau Chene for the championship. The Tigers blasted Beau Chene 5-0 on Jan. 6 in Lafayette.

Northlake Christian moved into the Division IV title game with a thrilling 3-2 win over Episcopal in overtime in Baton Rouge.

The Wolverines (19-1-3) will face top-seed Episcopal of Acadiana in the final, who whipped fourth-seed Newman 5-0.

Prep Soccer Playoff Results from Saturday, Feb. 18

https://crescentcitysports.mystagingwebsite.com/2018-lhsaa-playoff-boys-soccer-brackets/

Boys

Division I

#1 St. Paul’s 3, #4 Lafayette 0

#15 Jesuit 2, #2 Byrd 0

Division II

#1 Holy Cross 3, #4 Ruston 0

#2 Beau Chene 2, #11 East Jefferson 1  (Friday)

Division III

#1 E.D. White Catholic 4, #5 St. Louis Catholic 3

#6 Vandebilt Catholic 2, #2 University 1

Division IV

#1 Episcopal of Acadiana 5, #4 Newman 0

#3 Northlake Christian 3, #2 Episcopal 2 (OT)

https://crescentcitysports.mystagingwebsite.com/2018-lhsaa-playoff-girls-soccer-brackets/