Riverside ends season at Episcopal

Published 12:00 am Monday, February 16, 2009

By RYAN ARENA

Sports Editor

Defeating fifth-seeded Episcopal-Baton Rouge proved to be too high of a mountain to climb for Riverside. The Rebels fell 8-0 at Episcopal last Friday in a bi-district playoff match, bringing an end to Riverside’s first season under coach Stephen Millet.

“(Episcopal) was the superior squad,” Millet said. “They had plenty of depth, and no weak spots on the field. They play that next level of soccer. It was nice for our boys to see that up close, but we were way overmatched.”

Episcopal advanced to the regional round, where it topped Parkview Baptist 4-1. It will face St. Louis in the quarterfinals.

Millet pointed out some opportunities that his team had offensively – Mher Noljayan and Matt Graves each were able to find shots on goal.

“When we were finished, those two had nothing left,” said Millet. “They were totally deflated.”

But Millet also noted that the majority of the match was played in Riverside territory.

He said that the play of the Riv erside (2-10-1) defense, particularly goalie  Beau Gaudet, kept the score from getting truly out of hand.

“It could have been 25-0,” said Millet. “The officials and the opposing coaches both were very complimentary of his play.”

Riverside’s young team will lose only one senior entering next season — albeit an impact player in defender Nick Moock.

“It’ll be tough to replace him. I couldn’t have asked for a better leader,” said Millet.

Millet was just as complimentary of the seniors on his girls team, which fell a day prior to McGehee.

“You could see how much they meant to the team, and to each other,” said Millet of the game’s aftermath. “It was emotional. They mean a lot to me. They bought in and set the standard that we want to have for this program.”