Life on the edge is grand for the Barbe High girls soccer team.

The 18th-ranked Bucs pulled off three narrow upsets to reach the Division I semifinals for the first time since 2016.

Barbe (12-10-4) will travel three hours north to Shreveport to play No. 11 C.E. Byrd (16-9-4) at 2 p.m. Saturday for a chance to play in the final for the first time since 2008.

“We just keep telling them you never know when the hard work is going to pay off, and it is starting to pay off for us a little bit,” Barbe head coach Toff Hoffpauir said. “We are just going to continue to work hard, and you never know when it is going to pay off.

“The regular season was up and down. We played a really tough schedule, and we tested them all year. At the end of the season, we said it was a new season and we are 0-0. Let’s take all the lessons we have learned, have some belief in ourselves and go out there and play our hardest.”

The Bucs have run the gamut of ways to win close games. In the bi-district round, they went north and beat No. 15 West Monroe 4-2 on penalty kicks with senior Bailey Wimberly scoring the final goal. In the regional round, the Bucs hosted No. 2 Denham Springs and won 1-0 on a goal by junior Annalise Funk despite being down to 10 players for the final 25 minutes.

In the quarterfinals, the Bucs played at 11 a.m. at Pan American Stadium in New Orleans against No. 10 Dominican on Monday to beat the Mardi Gras crowds and won 1-0 on Funk’s 25th goal of the season.

“I really feel like we just play more like a team and have each other’s back defensively,” Hoffpauir said. “We’re starting to move off the ball a little more on the offensive side, so we are getting more attacks from multiple people.

“People are just starting to step up. They are playing their roles, listening to the scouting reports and executing the game plans perfectly.”

Upsets have played out all over the Division I playoffs. Through three rounds, the lower seed has won nine times. One top-four seed — No. 4 St. Scholastica (19-2-5) — remains and will face No. 8 Mount Carmel (16-5-6) in the other semifinal. The Cubs upset No. 1 St. Joseph’s on penalty kicks in the quarterfinals, and Byrd beat No. 3 Captain Shreve 2-0.

“Throughout the season we saw a lot of teams play, and we were like man, it is just whoever’s day it is,” Hoffpauir said. “It could be their run. Why not us? It is really wide open.”

The Bucs are led offensively by juniors Funk and Edie Stickell (7 goals, 17 assists).

“They just have resilience,” Hoffpauir said. “They just keep going and play the next play.

“If they don’t make it, they are just willing to make another run and go at them again. That is what happens in the playoffs. Everyone is just fighting to stay alive, and we just keep plugging away and finally, one just goes our way.”

Hoffpauir says the Bucs’ defense is young but has allowed one goal in regulation in three playoff games. Sophomore Kensley Rowse leads the defense and is joined by juniors Katherine Garner and Madison Stutes with freshman Jordan Woods in goal.

“I think the players have been improving all season,” Hoffpauir said. “They have just stepped up. We have three in the back, and Kensley Rowse is controlling the whole defense with her, Katherine Garner and Madison Stutes.

“(Woods) has had some growing pains this year. But she always comes to practice and always wants to get better. She is always asking questions. Other people just believe in her, and it is giving her all kinds of confidence.”

Byrd has one of the top forwards in the state in Natalie Dvorakova.

“They have probably one of the better players in the state,” Hoffpauir said. “They have a couple of really good girls up top that we are going to have our hands full dealing with them all game.

“I think if we can limit their touches, we have a good opportunity.”