Locals begin soccer playoffs

The push for a state championship is under way for several Tri-parish soccer teams.

A total of five local teams have advanced beyond the opening round of playoffs and into the Regional Round of action.

Those games and the quarterfinals round will be played this week throughout Louisiana.

Division II is where all of our local survivors remain.

On the boys’ side, two local powers will host second round games.

No. 5 E.D. White earned a first-round bye thanks to a dominant 19-4-3 regular season that saw the team post a perfect 8-0 mark in district play.

The Cardinals will open their state championship push Thursday night in a home match with No. 12 DeRidder, who enters the playoffs after a 6-0 shutout win in the opening round against No. 21 Benton.

E.D. White’s rival Vandebilt also received a first-round bye, entering the playoffs as Division II’s No. 6 seed.

The Terriers had an up-and-down regular season by their lofty standards, posting an 11-8-2 record.

But Vandebilt enters the postseason white-hot with six-straight victories – the last four of which were of the shutout variety.

While a lot of the wins came against inferior competition, one came against Beau Chene – the No. 4-seed in the Division II playoffs.

The Terriers will begin their quest for a state championship at home against No. 11 Nevile. The Tigers earned the right to play Vandebilt with a 2-0 win against Pearl River in the first round.

While Vandebilt’s boys ready themselves for Neville, the school’s girls are trying to get over the hump and win the state title after three-straight runner-up finishes.

The Lady Terriers enter the Division II playoffs as the No. 1 overall seed – a distinction they earned after a dominant 24-2-1 regular season.

Vandebilt will begin its run at the state championship in a home match with No. 16 St. Michael the Archangel, which advanced to the Regional round thanks to a 1-0 win against Cabrini.

While the Lady Terriers enjoyed a first-round bye, two of their district rivals played their way into the second round of the playoffs.

No. 13 E.D. White scored an easy 6-0 victory against Opelousas last Friday in a home match.

With the win, the Lady Cardinals earned the right to play No. 4 Neville. That match will take place tonight at 5:30 p.m.

No. 11 Morgan City also kicked its way into the second round of action in a lopsided win.

The Lady Tigers beat Belle Chasse 6-0 in the opening round. They moved on to play No. 6 Lakeshore in a road match. That game was played Tuesday night with a score not available at press time.

While the dream lives on for a few local teams, several others were sent home in the opening round of postseason play.

In Division I, No. 27 Central Lafourche fell 3-0 in a road match against No. 6 Catholic of Baton Rouge. The Trojans were the only local boys’ team in that classification to qualify for the playoffs.

On the girls’ side, No. 32 H.L. Bourgeois fell 7-0 to top-seeded St. Scholastica.

On the bottom-half of the girls’ Division 1 bracket, No. 23 Terrebonne was defeated 5-0 by No. 10 Northshore.

In Division III, Houma Christian’s boys’ team entered the playoffs as the No. 32-seed. The Warriors were ousted 9-0 by powerhouse Newman.