By RYAN ARENA

L’Observateur

LAPLACE – Laura Hane and Jalynn Johnson each scored goals to lead St. Charles to a 2-0 win over visiting Riverside on the school’s senior night Thursday.

In defeating the Rebels, St. Charles avenged a loss a week prior to Riverside, which was the first time the Rebels had defeated the Comets in the history of the rivalry.

“We’ve been shuffling our lineup with people out sick or injured,” said St. Charles coach Don Peyton.

“Tonight, we were missing three starters. And what I think happened, a lot of the girls looked at the situation and decided to step up. Some might have played over their heads, and some just really stepped up and made a difference.

“Last time we played, Riverside played very well. Tonight, our girls I think wanted to prove they could play better than they did a week ago, and it was a different game.”

Hane struck early, scoring nine minutes into the first half as she got open and fired into the upper half of the net to secure a 1-0 lead for her squad.

The Rebels had a few chances to tie things up in the first half, but SCC goalkeeper Shelby Schneider was able to turn back a pair of solid Rebel shots by Charlie Bourgeois and Jordan Duhon.

Hane nearly put SCC up 2-0 but it was Riverside’s goalkeeper’s turn to come up big as Kaci Simon made a save on that shot, then saved another by Johnson eight minutes into the second half.

The score would remain 1-0 until eight minutes left in regulation, when Johnson converted a pass from Hane into a score to make it a two goal game and effectively close the door on Riverside.

“We just weren’t as sharp tonight,” said Riverside coach Stephen Millet. “We made some poor decisions and our game suffered.”

After the split between the teams this season, Peyton said that it’s clear his crosstown rival is improving by leaps and bounds.

“”Coach Steve has taken that program a long way,” said Peyton. “A lot of the girls know each other. This is a rivalry game for parish pride.

“It feels good to win and maintain a shot at district. Now, we just need to get ready for two against E.D. White.”