Sophomore Will Flavin had another big postseason game, and the St. Louis Catholic boys soccer team broke through to the quarterfinals on Wednesday after falling short last season.

St. Louis (9-7-4) beat district rival DeRidder (14-9-1) 5-2 in the Division III regional playoffs at McNeese State’s Cowgirl Field. The Saints were upset by Belaire in the regional round last season.

“Last year’s game was definitely on our mind,” St. Louis head coach Hunter Hodgkins said. “We were working really hard to make sure that we didn’t repeat that same story from last year.

“It’s a big confidence boost to be able to get through the second round into the third round. I can say that the team is very confident right now and very excited to play Bossier in the next round.”

Flavin, who missed most of the regular season recovering from an injury, notched his second hat trick in as many games with four goals against the Dragons. He has scored seven goals in two postseason games and 11 this season.

“He’s been fantastic since coming back,” Hodgkins said. “He had a very short adjustment period. He was back to game speed fairly quickly. When you watch him play, you think he’s been with us all season.

“Not just his fitness levels, but just the way he gels with the squad, and the timing of his runs. He knows exactly where he needs to be and what to do with the ball when he gets it. He’s really making an impact for us.”

St. Louis got off to a 2-0 lead before the Dragons got one back. But, like in the regular-season meeting when the Saints fell behind 1-0, they were able to respond and get the lead back to two goals by halftime.

“I would not say our boys were worried,” Hodgkins. “Obviously we’re frustrated to concede a goal. Our mentality is to try to keep a clean sheet every game. But it’s just a little bit of adversity. We’ve gone through enough adversity this year to be able to shake it off, reset, refocus, and get right back after it.

“We didn’t panic after their goal. We just kept moving the ball around, trying to put the ball in the net.”

Center midfielder Bryce Foreman played a key defensive role, holding DeRidder’s Ryan Armetta to a goal.

“He covers so much ground,” Hodgkins said of Foreman. “He’s running up and down the pitch. He’s usually tasked with marking and defending the other team’s best player, and he does a fantastic job of that.”

The Saints will face a familiar opponent in the quarterfinals. They will travel to play No. 3 Bossier at 6 p.m. Tuesday. The Bearcats knocked the Saints out 1-0 in the 2023 semifinals.

“We get to go back there, see if we can tell a different story this time,” Hodgkins said.