Soccer Playoifs: St. Paul’s, Holy Cross, Ben Franklin, Lusher, Newman, Christ Episcopal advance to semifinals

Prep Playoff Soccer Report for Wednesday

Six area teams advanced to the state soccer semifinals with wins Tuesday.

In Division I, unbeaten defending state champion and top seed St. Paul’s went on the road and shutout No. 8 Lafayette 8-0.

James Bradford and Raleigh Martin each scored a goal in the first half and the Wolves made it stand up.

St. Paul’s (27-0) advances to the semifinals to host No. 4 Dutchtown.

The Griffins rallied from a goal down to beat No. 5 Jesuit 2-1 at home.

After a scoreless first half, Noah Relan put Jesuit on top in the 4wnd minute but the Griffins tied it in the 46th minute on a goal by Zane Zezulka and then Jose Mendoza scored the game-winner in the 58th minute.

At Catholic High, No. 6 Brother Martin was looking very good against No. 3 Catholic.

The Crusaders (15-3-5) scored a first half goal and then added a second half goal on a penalty kick to take a 2-0 lead. Then, the Bears awakened, scoring on a penalty kick before tying the game in extended time to force overtime.

After a pair of 10 minute overtime periods scoreless, Catholic scored the game-winning goal in the second five-minute sudden death period to advance.

The Bears (13-3-2) will face No. 2 seed Denham Springs. The Yellow Jackets went to Shreveport and edged No. 23 Captain Shreve 2-1. Junior Brennan Amato and sophomore Noah Hood scored goals for the Yellow Jackets.

In Division II, two-time defending state champion Holy Cross is back in the semifinals.

The Tigers went on the road and defeated No. 24 McKinley 4-2.

Ethan Carney scored once and Sinjin Mills added a pair of goals to give the Tigers a commanding 3-0 lead.

The Panthers rallied with a pair of goals to make it 3-2 on a pair of goals by Lester Rodriguez before Carney scored the clinching goal for the Tigers.

Holy Cross (21-6-4) advances to play No. 5 Ben Franklin in the semifinals.

The Falcons went on the road and won 4-0 at No. 13 Terrebonne.

Ben Franklin (14-4-6) led 1-0 at halftime and pulled away in the second half behind goals by Kyle Ayers and Austyn Millet.

In Lafayette, No. 2 St. Thomas More edged No. 7 Bonnabel 1-0. The two teams were scoreless at the half before Townes Wallace put one in the back of the net for the Cougars in the 48th minute.

STM advances to the semifinals to take on district rival Beau Chene while the Bruins end their fine season 16-7-3. Beau Chene downed Captain Shreve 2-0.

In Division III, No. 3 Lusher Charter moved on to the semifinals with a 3-1 overtime victory over No. 6 Parkview Baptist at Pan American Stadium. James Rose scored a pair of goals, including one in overtime to pace the Lions. Tate Pottle scored the game-clincher in the overtime period for Lusher.

Andrew Aucoin had given the Eagles a 1-0 lead in the first half.

The Lions (19-2-4) advance to face No. 2 University High in the semifinals.

Also in Division III, top seed Vandebilt Catholic easily handled No. 8 Bossier 8-0 and will face No. 5 Loyola Prep in the semifinals. The Flyers edged No. 4 E.D. White Catholic 2-1.

In Division IV, No. 3 Newman advanced to the semifinals, edging No. 6 Holy Savior Menard 1-0.

Emmet Morrison scored the lone goal in the 26th minute and the Greenies made it stand up.

Newan will play at No. 2 Catholic of New Iberia in the semifinals. The Panthers shutout No. 7 North Vermilion 4-0.

No. 4 Christ Episcopal is in the semifinals for the first time in school history after a convincing 6-2 win over No. 5 Episcopal of Acadiana.

Christian Herpin put the Falcons on top 1-0 early on but that was short lived. Eli Jones tied it for the Wildcats before Coleman Mills put Christ Episcopal on top 2-1 with a goal. Alex Hill scored before the half to make it 3-1.

In the second half, Callum Newberry scored before Episcopal of Acadiana cut the deficit to 4-2 on a goal by Sam Castille but Miles and Jones each scored his second goal to put the match away for the Wildcats.

Christ Episcopal (16-2-1) will travel to top seed Episcopal in the semifinals. The Knights shutout the Wildcats 5-0 at home in the season opener for Christ Episcopal on Nov. 19.

Prep Soccer Playoff Results from Tuesday, Feb. 18

Boys

Division I

No. 1 St. Paul’s 2, No. 9 Lafayette 0

No. 4 Dutchtown 2, No. 5 Jesuit

No. 3 Catholic (BR) 3, No. 6 Brother Martin 2 (OT)

No. 2 Denham Springs 2, No. 23 Captain Shreve 1

Division II

No. 1 Holy Cross 4, No. 24 McKinley 2

No. 5 Ben Franklin 3, No. 13 Terrebonne 0

No. 3 Beau Chene 2, No. 11 Caddo Magnet 0

No. 2 St. Thomas More 1, No. 7 Bonnabel 0

Division III

No. 1 Vandebilt Catholic 8, No. 8 Bossier 0

No. 5 Loyola Prep 2, No. 4 E.D. White Catholic 1

No. 3 Lusher Charter 3, No. 6 Parkview Baptist 1

Division IV

No. 4 Christ Episcopal 6, No. 5 Episcopal of Acadiana 2

No. 3 Newman 1, No. 6 Holy Savior Menard 0

No. 2 Catholic (NI) 4, No. 7 Vermilion Catholic 0