By RYAN ARENA
L’Observateur

LAPLACE — Matt Broussard’s goal midway through the second half proved the difference for St. Charles Catholic, as the boys soccer team added a third win to last week’s total in a 1-0 victory at Riverside Saturday afternoon. 

The Comets have vaulted up the state rankings and now find themselves on the outskirts of the Top 10 of Division III, SCC (6-2-3) now sitting at No. 11 after wins over fellow top 15 Division III squads Dunham and Parkview Baptist last week.

St. Charles coach Sean LeBlanc was pleased to see his team come away from Saturday’s match with an improved Rebels squad with another victory in tow, but said that there’s plenty to improve upon — despite the win, it wasn’t one of his team’s better efforts. 

“We got lucky,” said LeBlanc. “I don’t know if it was an off day or if the guys were emotionally tired, but we had no passing, no rhythm, no nothing.”

Broussard’s goal came on what LeBlanc said was actually intended as a long-distance pass.

“He was trying to play it up to the forward. It was an accident more than anything,” said LeBlanc. “It kind of caught their goalkeeper out of position and he just missed it.”

Riverside coach Paul Shenton said that he was proud of the defensive effort by his Rebels.

“We had a few decent chances. Each team hit the post once and saw it bounce out,” said Shenton. “I thought it was a match that could have gone either way without much to complain about.”

Riverside fell to 4-10-1 with the loss, 0-4 in district play.

Shenton said that he feels his team is improving as the season rolls on, but that the increased level of competition has taken a toll in terms of having wins to show for it.

“Everyone that we’ve played since early December, essentially, has been a top 15 team in its division,” said Shenton. “Outside of our district, too, I scheduled some tougher teams as the season went along to give us a chance to test ourselves against better competition.

Some matches have ended in heartbreak, much like Saturday’s clash with the Comets. Riverside recently rallied from a 3-1 deficit to take a 4-3 lead against Plaquemine, only for a Green Devils score force a tie in the final moments.

“We’ve still seen a huge improvement,” said Shenton. “Besides our first match with Dunham, we’ve been in each of them and given ourselves a chance.

SCC returns to action Wednesday as the Comets travel to Parkview for a rematch. 

Riverside, meanwhile, will travel to University Wednesday.