Jesuit Plays Hahnville & Destrehan on Monday, Dec. 29; Rummel & Catholic on Tuesday

Patrick LaCour, shown here in a match earlier this season, scored the winning goal in the last minute of the Jays’ match against the Cubs of University High (B.R.). (Photo by Jeff Strout)

Jesuit’s varsity soccer team, well-rested and riding a string of five consecutive wins, takes to the road once again on Monday and Tuesday (Dec. 29-30) to play in the annual St. Paul’s Holiday Tournament in Covington.

The Jays first match, at 11:30 a.m. against the Hahnville Tigers, will be played on St. Paul’s stadium field. Following the match, the Jays pile into cars and drive to Northlake Christian School where they will face the Destrehan Wildcats in a match that is scheduled to begin at 2:30 p.m. On Tuesday, the Jays play district-rival Rummel at 11:30 a.m. and the Catholic High (B.R.) Bears at 2:30 p.m. Tuesday’s games are at St. Paul’s. Jesuit defeated Rummel, 1-0, in a district match a couple of weeks ago.

“We need to come out and play well, and get off to a good start,” said soccer head coach Hubie Collins. “We can’t obviously win the tournament on the first day, but we can sure lose it if we don’t play smart and we don’t give it everything we’ve got.”

The tournament schedule is listed below. Because of rain over the weekend, matches originally scheduled to be played on St. Paul’s varsity field (adjacent to the stadium) have been moved to Northlake Christian’s soccer field.

The Jays recently brought home a first-place trophy for winning their bracket at the Louisiana Soccer Showcase Tournament in Lake Charles. The tournament was shortened to one day because of rain, which meant the teams participating played three matches on Saturday, December 20. The Jays defeated St. Thomas More, 5-0; University High (B.R.), 2-1; and St. Louis (Lake Charles), 1-0. Against St. Thomas More, junior co-captain Chase Rushing turned the first hat trick of the season with his 3 goals. Junior Dillon Fuchs and senior co-captain Jack LaForge each scored to account for the other pair of goals in the shutout of the Cougars.

In the University High game, LaForge scored the Jays’ first goal and the Cubs tied the game with about five minutes remaining in the match. In the last minute of play, senior Patrick LaCour buried the ball in the net with a driving left-footed shot. LaCour also scored the Jays’ lone goal in the first half of the match against St. Louis Catholic High School. The single goal held as the Jays held the Saints scoreless. The three wins placed the Jays on top of their bracket. Senior goalie and co-captain Otto Candies was in the goal for all three matches.

The Jays bring a 6-0-1 record into the St. Paul’s tournament (counting out-of-state games, the Jays own a 6-4-1 record, having lost all four games played in a Mississippi tourney held in early December). Nevertheless, the Jays are ranked #3 among Division 1 teams in the state, according to a poll conducted by The Louisiana High School Soccer Coaches Association (LHSSCA). The voting committee consists of 10 coaches from throughout the state. Record listed for each team is their official LHSAA record and does not include games against out-of-state teams, JV, or any other non-LHSAA teams. The number in brackets indicates first place votes. Here are the top three Division 1 teams:

1) St. Paul’s [10] 150 (5-0-0)
2) Acadiana 135 (13-1-2)
3) Jesuit 119 (6-0-1)

St. Paul’s Holiday Tournament Schedule