The stands were packed as fans from across the north shore crammed into Mandeville High to witness the clash between the top two boys’ soccer teams of District 5-I. Both student sections were filled to the top of Sidney Theriot Stadium.
On one side was the perennial powerhouse that is St. Paul’s soccer. One of the best programs in the state, the Wolves entered the night on a 34-match winning streak in district play in which they outscored opponents 196-3.
On the other stood a red-hot Mandeville squad that posed the biggest threat to St. Paul’s district crown in some time. The Skippers were the No. 2 teams in the state and had the Wolves on their home turf.
But ultimately, the dethroning was not to be.
After Friday night’s 4-1 win, the Wolves’ historic streak dating back to 2017 continues for at least another match.
“We approached it like any other game,” St. Paul’s senior forward Kristian Ernst said. “We don’t give in to the hype. That sets us off a little bit, and we didn’t do that this time. And we came out on top.”
It took a few minutes for SPS (16-2-4, 5-0) to settle into the match, playing the Skippers (17-2-4, 3-1) to a scoreless draw through the first 30 minutes. Mandeville even had a few early chances narrowly kept out of the net by St. Paul’s keeper Connor Allen.
It wasn’t until Michael McWilliams was able to slot a low shot inside the far post in the 33rd minute that the Wolves broke the tie and gained the first edge of the night.
Then in the second half, SPS built a little comfort when Ernst played a well-placed through ball to a streaking Brennan LeBlanc for a 2-0 lead in the 46th minute. A few minutes later, a penalty kick by Owen Spath gave St. Paul’s a 3-0 advantage.
By that point, SPS was well on its way to its ninth straight win over Mandeville. The last time St. Paul’s lost a district game was in a 1-0 defeat to the Skippers in 2017.
“There’s obviously a lot of adrenaline,” Ernst said. “We were all excited leading up to this game. We’ve been training all year, and there was a lot of focus and energy coming into the game.”
It’s a fair assessment to say the game could have finished much closer than the score indicated, with the Skippers putting several strong chances on frame in the second half. Couple that with a few miscommunications on the early SPS goals, and the match had the potential to go in a different direction.
The Skippers became the first district team to score on St. Paul’s since Fontainebleau in 2021. Kota Henry found the lucky ball in the 76th minute with a header chipped just out of reach of the Wolves’ keeper. It is also the first goal for the Skippers against SPS since 2019.
Ernst capped off the night with St. Paul’s fourth and final goal in stoppage time.
“We competed hard,” Mandeville coach Curt Aertker said. “The better team won tonight, but I think the game was closer than the score indicated. … They’re the standard for soccer in Louisiana, but with that said, we competed valiantly, and we’re going to be better for the experience .”
SCORE BY HALVES
St. Paul’s | 1 | 3-4
Mandeville | 0 | 1 – 1
INDIVIDUAL SCORING
SPS, Michael McWilliams, 33rd minute; SPS, Brennan LeBlanc, 46th minute; SPS, Owen Spath, 49th minute; MHS, Kota Henry, 76th minute; SPS, Kristian Ernst, 80th minute.
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