Two of the top girls soccer programs in the area will kick off today in Longville.

St. Louis Catholic is a traditional power with a rich history, while South Beauregard is an emerging power looking to unseat the Saints.

The Lady K’s (16-2-2) will host St. Louis (8-4) at noon today. The winner will take the driver’s seat in the Division I, District 3 race.

“South Beauregard is a great team,” St. Louis head coach Alex Kjellsten said. “Their coaches have done a great job with them.

“This is my fifth year coaching, and how much they have improved over the years has been a credit to their coaching staff. They have a ton of wins this year, and we are definitely not taking them lightly. We are looking forward to a good game against them.”

South Beauregard has yet to beat the Saints. The closest was a 0-0 tie on Jan. 20, 2021.

“They are definitely the gold standard, especially in this area,” South Beauregard head coach Derek Midkiff said of the Saints. “That is the goal: to beat them and win a district championship.

“We have to play our style of soccer and not make mistakes. Against great teams, we have to maintain possession and proper passing. When we have opportunities, we have to take advantage of them. You can’t let opportunities slip against high-quality teams.”

With 16 wins, the Lady K’s are enjoying their best season in their brief six-year history and are ranked No. 5 in the state power ratings.

“We have been laying the groundwork for the last five years,” Midkiff said. “We have had some great players come through here, and we still have several of them playing in college.

“We have had an eye on this senior group for the last five or six years, knowing that we had a lot of talent in that group. It has been a lot of hard work.”

St. Louis is ranked No. 3 in Division III with all four losses coming to top-10 teams, including a 1-0 loss to Division II No. 1 St. Thomas More, the six-time defending Division II state champ, on Dec. 16.

“I love our team this year,” Kjellsten said. “The girls are really getting along with each other. They are coming to practice every day and working hard.

“We take care of the little things like making sure the locker room is clean. We are trying to be more of a team and using teamwork and those intangible things like courage and responsibility. That has led us to the point where we are now. They are a joy to be around.”

The Saints have nine starters back from last year’s Division III semifinalist team. Senior Emma Roach and sophomore Addie Flavin lead the Saints in scoring.

“Our experience with having those returning players has been huge for us,” Kjellsten said. “A lot of these girls have been starting since their freshman year. While they may have struggled a couple of years ago because of how young they were, not that they have those years of experience under their belt it has really paid off for us.”

Sophomore goalkeeper Caroline Avery is allowing 0.75 goals a game.