By RYAN ARENA
L’Observateur
RESERVE — Just days after securing what looked to perhaps be a season-defining victory at Destrehan last week, East St. John absorbed a perhaps fatal blow to its playoff hopes as Bonnabel felled the Wildcats, 2-0, Tuesday.
The Bonnabel loss dropped ESJ to 5-4 in District 6-I play entering its final district match of the season with Hahnville Friday, after press time. A win in that match for Hahnville would mean a district championship, after the Tigers upended Destrehan this week.
“We had some guys just getting back into the lineup, and I think some were a little out of sorts (against Bonnabel),” said East St. John coach Paul Dupuy. “They got up on us early, and we haven’t been an explosive goal-scoring team. We’ve been winning with defense … and I think guys started to hang their heads a little.
“They played hard, but I don’t know that they ever completely shook free from it. That comes with youth.”
East St. John stands at 6-15 overall. The Wildcats likely needed to finish in the top two in District 6-I to reach the postseason, as ESJ’s record will likely not stand as strong enough to secure a wildcard.
The Wildcats had just secured perhaps their most satisfying and important victory of the season, knocking off then-district leader Destrehan in a post overtime shootout, 7-6; the game was a scoreless tie after regulation and two overtimes.
Tony Warren, Rico Franco, Greg Burnett, Ian Gibbs, Marshall Robles, Lino Barrera and Sisavath Paneyanuvong each scored goals for East St. John, while Tony Warren made a trio of saves in the shootout.
Warren played the PKs after Robles played regulation and in the two overtimes and helped record a shutout through that stretch.
“It was a defensive battle,” said Dupuy, whose team has been stingy in terms of goals against throughout district play. “Both teams had opportunities and couldn’t push anything through and both teams were frustrated.
“I thought it was one of our best performances. Destrehan had just won a game 10-0. They were scoring a lot of goals in district and obviously have a lot of firepower, so this stood as one of our better defensive games.”