There aren’t many teams in the state with the track record of St. Joseph’s Academy soccer team against Division II power St. Thomas More.
The Redstickers, no. 1 in the unofficial Division I power ratings, managed a draw against the Cougars, No. 1 in the unofficial Division II power ratings for the second straight year. SJA’s Madison Hitzman buried a penalty kick in stoppage time for a 2-2 final on a cold Friday at the Burbank Soccer Complex in the Redsticker Roundup.
SJA concludes play at 1 pm Saturday against St. Scholastica, while St. Thomas More meets Lakeshore at 11 am
“The wins and losses don’t really matter for us at this point of our season,” SJA coach Kyle Carmouche said. “What we want to see is whether we’re advancing, what we’re trying to get done when we get to the Division I playoffs. We need to see our girls compete for 80 minutes and be ready for that type of match later this season.”
SJA (14-1-2), which had won its last 11 matches, lost a 2-1 decision at St. Thomas More on Dec. 7. The Redstickers conclude the regular season at home on Jan. 27 at 6 pm against the Cougars (20-0-1), the five-time reigning Division II champions.
“That’s the goal,” Carmouche said of defeating STM, which is 46-2-2 the past two seasons and had won its last 27 matches. “They’re a fantastic program and that’s why I want to play them. It only makes us better. To play the best competition, that’s what our season’s about to see how we stack up against them. Tonight, we were able to walk out with a tie.”
STM led 1-0 at halftime on Kate Guillory’s goal in stoppage time and was on the verge of its 15th shutout of the season until late in the second half.
SJA’s Riley Wilson made a run down the right flank inside STM’s defensive third when her shot deflected off STM goalkeeper Nykell Smith. The loose ball bounded towards Ivy May, who settled the ball and arched a shot into the right corner of the goal to make it 1-1 in the 76th minute.
STM, which outshot SJA 9-6 overall and 5-4 in shots on goal, recaptured the lead in stoppage time when Addison Leblanc took a pass in between the two boxes and her ground shot beat two converging SJA defenders and into the left side of the net.
“You saw two powerhouse programs in Louisiana going at it, really competing,” STM coach Daniel Underwood said. “I think the fans really got their money’s worth. It was a good thing for us. Our girls felt like it was a loss and actually it was a draw.
“For us, it happened at a very good point in the season where it kind of helps us refocus and get us back on track. It’s easy to get complacent, especially at this point in the season.”
SJA responded, though, creating a foul in the penalty box on its next possession and Hitzman calmly drained her attempt to beat Smith, who had allowed only six goals all season.
Goalkeeper Greenley Duplantis had eight saves, including six in the second half, for the Redstickers.
“Our style of play has us going forward as much as we can the entire match,” Carmouche said. “You never know what happens. A kid gets hit in the box late in the match and that’s the equalizer. That’s sometimes the difference in the match.”
.