St. Louis Catholic broke through St. Michael the Archangel’s defense in the second half to get over the semifinal hump that had vexed them since 2010.

“A lot of people didn’t expect us to be here, but we did,” St. Louis head coach Alex Kjellsten said. “From the very beginning, we knew that this team was special.

“They have really been working hard. We saw early on that this was the team that would break that curse.”

The No. 2 Saints (18-4-2) beat the No. 3 Warriors (14-5-3) 2-0 on Saturday at McNeese State’s Cowgirl Field in the Division III semifinals.

It was the Saints’ fifth semifinal appearance in the last seven seasons but their first win since their last state championship run in 2010.

“This group is so special,” Kjellsten said. “There are not many words I can say that shows how special this group is.

“They dig deep when their backs are against the wall. They fight back. I am just so proud of them for what they did.”

St. Louis will face defending champ and No. 1 Parkview Baptist (26-0-1) in the finals on Thursday at 5 p.m. in Hammond at Southeastern Louisiana University.

After a scoreless first half, sophomore Adelaide Flavin took a shot from outside the penalty box and slipped past the Warriors’ goalkeeper and into the net after glancing off the left post in the 46th minute. It didn’t take long for the Saints to add to the lead when Addison Moreno launched a deep shot just high enough to stay out of reach of the keeper in the 51st minute. Kylie Pousson and Emma Roach were credited with assists.

St. Michael outshot St. Louis 5-2 in the first half, but the Saint defense stepped up to keep the game scoreless at the break. St. Louis adjusted in the second half and held a 4-3 shot advantage.

“Our defense has so much team chemistry, and they work so well together,” Kjellsten said. “Coach Kyra and Coach Abbot do such a great job with the defenders.

“It is a joy to watch them. (St. Michael) was switching their players and where they were putting them, so we just had to adjust our defenders to make sure we had the right players on the right people. We bent a little, but we never broke. Credit to the defense. It is very easy in that moment to freak out and lose composure when the other team is shooting a lot. But they stood their ground.”

St. Louis goalkeeper Caroline Avery had seven saves and recorded her 11th shutout of the season and third in the playoffs.

“She (Avery) is an unbelievable goalkeeper, and she is only a sophomore,” Kjellsten said. “She had a huge night tonight.

“We don’t get to where we are at this point in the season without the work she has been doing.”

Division I

C.E. Byrd 1

Barbe 0

SHREVEPORT — After three close postseason wins, No. 18 Barbe finally found itself on the wrong end of one.

No. 11 C.E. Byrd ended the Bucs season with a 1-0 win on Saturday in Shreveport in the Division I semifinals.

Khaela Roraback scored the game winner late in the second half.

Barbe’s semifinal run started with a penalty kick win at West Monroe in the first round. They followed that up with a 1-0 upset of No. 2 Denham Springs at home on Feb. 7 and a 1-0 win at No. 10 Dominican on Feb. 12.

C.E. Byrd will play No. 4 St. Scholastica in the Division I state championship game on Saturday, Feb. 24, at Southeastern Louisiana University in Hammond. St. Scholastica beat No. 8 Mt. Carmel 1-0 in the semifinals.

LHSAA soccer state championship schedule

all games at Southeastern Louisiana University

Boys

Division I — No. 1 Jesuit vs. No. 2 Catholic-Baton Rouge, 7:30 p.m. Feb. 24

Division II — No. 1 Holy Cross vs. No. 3 Ben Franklin, 7:30 p.m. Feb. 23

Division III — No. 1 The Willow School vs. No. 3 University Lab, 7:30 p.m. Feb. 22

Division IV — No. 8 Episcopal vs. No. 2 Episcopal of Acadiana, 7:30 p.m. Feb. 21

Girls

Division I — No. 4 St. Scholastica vs. No. 11 C.E. Byrd, 5 p.m. Feb. 24

Division II — No. 1 St. Thomas More vs. No. 7 Ben Franklin, 5 p.m. Feb. 23

Division III — No. 1 Parkview Baptist vs. No. 2 St. Louis Catholic, 5 p.m. Feb. 22

Division IV — No. 1 Episcopal vs. No. 3 Isidore Newman, 5 p.m. Feb. 21