Photo Gallery from the Shreveport Times:
www.shreveporttimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/gallery?Avis=D9&Dato=20090228&Kategori=SPORTS&Lopenr=902280806&Ref=PH&Profile=1001&SectionCat=SPORTSArticle from the Shreveport Times:
www.shreveporttimes.com/article/20090301/SPORTS0104/903010338/1001/SPORTS&referrer=NEWSFRONTCAROUSELJesuit tops ShreveBlue Jays surge in 2nd half to winBy Kelly Morris • kmorris4@gannett.com • March 1, 2009 2:00 am
The Captain Shreve boys soccer team knew it would have to play the game of its lives to take down perennial powerhouse Jesuit in its first Division I championship game.
For a half, the Gators did play the game of their lives. They just couldn't maintain it.
No. 1 Jesuit scored two goals in the second half to cap a 3-1 win on Saturday and capture its eighth state title. The Blue Jays clinched the title at Independence Stadium without star forward Patrick Mullins in their lineup. The Blue Jays also finished the season undefeated — the same thing they did when they won their last title in 2007.
"This doesn't take away from what we did this year," Gators coach Matt Smith said. "We came out on the wrong side, but we did everything we could. I couldn't be prouder. I wouldn't coach another team in the state."
The Gators fought through chilly conditions. It was 44 degrees at game time and only got colder and windier as the game went on.
The game was tied 1-1 at halftime, but Division I finals MVP Mark Reuther scored both of Jesuit's goals in the second half. Reuther's first goal was set up off a Shreve defensive miscue.
"It took us down a little bit," Shreve sophomore forward Connor Randel said. "We just couldn't get back into the game."
Said Shreve senior forward Brennan Randel: "We lost the momentum at that point. We really lost the momentum after their first goal. It's hard to come back against such a great defense. It's hard to score more than that."
The Gators' game plan against Jesuit was simple. Take control of the game early.
The Gators, a usually slow-starting team, scored the game's first goal in the 10th minute. Brennan Randel fed senior defender Will Monsour a short pass and Monsour scored from inside the box. Monsour moved to midfield on the play.
"I thought we had the game at that point," Brennan Randel said. "I thought be could keep them out of the net. It just wasn't our day."
Jesuit nearly scored just a second before Shreve's goal. Charles Kleinschmidt and
Reuther broke to the net untouched. Shreve senior goalkeeper Matt Green had a point-blank save on a Kleinschmidt, but Reuther was there for the rebound. Green got a piece of the ball with his glove.
Shreve couldn't escape the first half with a 1-0 lead. Midfielder Michael Simmons headed a ball into the net off a Stephen Cabos corner kick in the 31st minute.
The game also got physical. Connor Randel and Jesuit's Colin Sens had a collision early in the first and Brennan Randel got tripped on a breakaway. No penalty was called and Brennan Randel argued it and was given a yellow card.
The Gators had a stiff wind going against them in the second half. Reuther's second goal came in the 69th minute. The senior easily deked around the Shreve defense and scored from close range.
It was the final varsity game for Shreve's six seniors. Brennan Randel, the team's leading scorer, played in his last varsity game with younger brother Connoe
"It's just been a great experience playing with him," Brennan Randel. "It's definitely emotional for me. Win or lose, I'd be crying right now."
Another article from the Shreveport Times:
www.shreveporttimes.com/article/20090301/SPORTS0401/903010330/1001Scott Ferrell: No title, but still a statement for cityA year ago, the Caddo Magnet Mustangs celebrated Shreveport's first Division I boys state soccer championship on the Independence Stadium turf.
With Captain Shreve playing in Saturday's championship, there were those with Gator ties expecting a repeat of the script with the Gators filling the Mustangs' role.
Of course, there was one problem with that thought process — the opponent.
The Jesuit Blue Jays came into Saturday's game with a 30-0-2 record and the No. 1 seed.
There had been no pre-March madness in this weekend of soccer in Shreveport. All three No. 1 seeds had won prior to Saturday's Shreve-Jesuit final.
Then there was also the little matter of the Jesuit tradition.
The Blue Jays are the bluest of the state's blue bloods in the sport. They had won seven state titles coming into Saturday's game. Shreve, in contrast, was playing in its first state championship.
"We had to come out and play the game of our lives," Shreve coach Matt Smith said. "We know what kind of talent they have. We know how good they are. We had to play the game of our lives and we did for a good bit of that."
Shreve's Will Monsour gave the Gators an early 1-0 lead with his goal, but Jesuit tied the game at 1 at halftime.
Still, Smith liked where the Gators sat at the break.
"We were feeling confident," Smith said. "We had tied them at the end of regulation and in overtime at the beginning of the season. It was just a matter of keeping it a close game and getting some opportunities of our own."
The best opportunities belonged to Jesuit's Mark Reuther. He scored a pair of goals within a 10-minute stretch in the second half to give the Blue Jays a two-goal lead and the cushion they needed for a 3-1 win and eighth state championship.
In the end, Jesuit was too much and too deep for Shreve.
There's no shame in that. No one else in the state was able to pin a loss on the Blue Jays. The Gators at least put a scare in the Blue Jays.
"That was the best competition we've had," Reuther said, "by far."
The Blue Jays celebrated on the Independence Stadium turf on Saturday night, but to do it, they had to beat a Shreveport team.
The Gators may have lost in the state championship, but their appearance — on the heels of Magnet's state title — reinforces the fact that local soccer has arrived on the state level.
"We've always been competitive," Smith said. "But it seems in the past couple of years the teams have really stepped it up in competition. We've come close. Magnet made it to the semis a couple of years ago. We didn't get that last spot. We finally did. The confidence level throughout the city has gone up."
And Shreve doesn't figure to be going anywhere anytime soon.
Smith loses only six seniors off a team that has the experience of playing for a state title.
"It's heartbreaking right now, but it's something they can learn from," Smith said. "We're returning 16 kids out of 22 next year. They're going to be seasoned as far as pressure and high-pressure games. I think it's going to be very beneficial to them.'