Girls prep soccer: St. Louis, Barbe advance to semifinals win narrow wins

Published 11:01 pm Monday, February 12, 2024

Overtime looked eminent Monday night at Cowgirl Field, but sophomore Adelaide Flavin came through with the winning goal, and No. 2 St. Louis Catholic beat No. 7 Sacred Heart-New Orleans 2-1 in the Division III quarterfinals.

“We talked earlier before the game about something might not go our way,” St. Louis Catholic head coach Alex Kjellsten said. “And something didn’t go our way at the very end there.

“We challenged our girls to dig deep when something doesn’t go our way, and they did. We were able to get that last goal at the end. Just to see their reaction was so special because they really dug deep. They earned this win.”

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St. Louis advanced to the semifinals for the second consecutive year and will host the winner out of No. 3 St. Michael the Archangel and No. 6 E.D. White in the semifinals.

Flavin scored her fourth goal in three postseason games. She received a pass from junior Emma Roach and got enough separation from a defender to get off a shot and loft it just high to stay out of reach of goalkeeper Ellie Habetz and keep it under the crossbar with about a minute left in the game.

“It looked like she just received a pass, made a good move and made a good shot,” Kjellsten said. “Luckily, that ball dipped right under the post.

“I am just so proud of these girls. Credit Sacred Heart. They gave us everything they had tonight. They are a great team. Our girls were just all in. Our team motto. We have been all in all year, and it is paying off.”

Sophomore goalkeeper Caroline Avery made a diving stop on a shot by Vivian Reale with less than 30 seconds left to preserve the win. Avery stopped six shots after an injury kept her out of the Saints’ regional round win over No. 15 Livonia on Feb. 6.

“Our keeper did a phenomenal job tonight,” Kjellsten said. “She (Avery) missed the last game with an injury, and we were unsure if she would play.

“I know she is hurting a little bit today, but she stepped in and did a great job for us. Our whole team is so thankful for her.”

In the 53rd minute, St. Louis broke up a scoreless tie when Emma Roach scored on a breakaway after a pass from Flavin. Seven minutes later, Sacred Hearts’ Charlotte Bush scored on a 30-yard shot from the left side, getting the ball in just before the right post.

Barbe 1

Dominican 0, OT

NEW ORLEANS — Annalise Funk scored her 25th goal of the season on Monday to lift Barbe to and upset of No. 10 Dominican (20-7-3) 1-0 at Pan American Stadium.

The Bucs (11-10-4) defeated No. 2 Denham Springs 1-0 in the regional round and No. 15 West Monroe in penalty kicks last week in the first two rounds of the Division I playoffs.

Barbe will travel to the winner out of No. 3 Captain Shreve (19-2) and No. 11 C.E. Byrd (15-9-4) in the semifinals. The Bucs will make their first semifinal appearance since 2016.