St. Louis Catholic boys soccer team opened the season with a lot of new pieces, including five starters and head coach.

They had to find a way to make it fit together. Early on the Saints lost seven of their first 12 games. Since then the Saints finished the regular season strong and look to continue their hot streak in the postseason.

“I would definitely say there’s been some improvement as the season has progressed,” said first-year head coach Hunter Hodgkins. “Coming in with this group, this being my first season with these guys, it took a little bit of time to understand each player, their strengths and their weaknesses.

“It’s started to look really good on the field. We’re looking very strong right now and very excited for that to continue through the playoffs.”

The sixth-ranked Saints will host district rival No. 11 DeRidder (14-8-1) at 7 p.m. today at McNeese State’s Cowgirl Field in the regional round of the Division III playoffs. The Saints beat the Dragons 4-2 in the regular season.

“They kind of know what we’re going to do, so it’s about adding some new things into the mix, maybe some new set pieces or some new patterns to play that can hopefully catch them off guard,” Hodgkins said. “I’m sure they’re doing the same.

“We’ve been training hard and preparing for this game like it’s any other opponent in the playoffs so that we can play our game. Regardless of who’s on the field with us, if we execute the things we need to do, then we should find success.”

Defense has been the catalyst for the Saints’ late-season surge. The Saints are 5-0-2 in their last seven games and allowed 0.71 goals per game. In their first 12 games, the Saints allowed 2.5 goals a game. Junior Harris Hurt leads a backline that includes seniors Gary Allen and Miller McFadden and freshman Nicholas Jackson in goal.

“The defensive organization has been fantastic,” said Hodgkins, a former Saints player (Class of 2012) who spent the last couple of years coaching high school soccer in Oregon. “Harrison Hurt is sort of communicating now.

“He understands not only where he needs to be, but where his teammates need to be based on the look that the opponents give us. They’ve been limiting opponents’ opportunities to score, which is always going to be a helpful thing.”

Better defense has led to better offense. The Saints have scored 31 goals in the last seven games, including an 8-0 win over Acadiana Renaissance Charter in the bi-district round. Sophomore Will Flavin, who returned from an injury on Jan. 7, scored a hat trick in the first round of the playoffs.

“We’re now able to connect that defense with building an attack going forward,” Hodgkins said. “So we’re able to put some passes together, get into the final third there and create some pretty good goal-scoring opportunities.

“It’s been progressing game by game. You saw it in the first round of the playoffs. I just feel like we’re doing everything we need to do right now.”

Flavin, along with juniors Tucker Williams and Drake Hinton, give the Saints a talent on the attacking end that combined for six goals in the first round of the playoffs.

“With Tucker, he’s a threat from everywhere, so you got to watch out for him everywhere,” Hodgkins said. “The thing that (Drake) does incredibly well is crossing that ball in from the left side.

“Some of the crosses he makes are exceptional, both in terms of accuracy and timing. If he gets the ball out wide and you’re open in the box, he will find you with the cross. When (Flavin) receives the ball, he’s got the skill to beat a defender (one-one-one) and create a shot. He’s very difficult to defend (one-one-one), and he’s probably going to get a shot off.”