By RYAN ARENA
L’Observateur

BROUSSARD — Caitlin Roussel’s second half goal gave Riverside new life as it trailed Episcopal of Acadiana 2-0 in the Division III first round playoff match Friday between the teams, but the Rebels’ season ultimately came to an end via a 2-1 road loss to the No. 15 seeded Falcons.

Episcopal advanced to the regional round, where it is slated to face No. 2 seeded University Lab, to whom Riverside finished as district runner-up in the regular season.

“We made a push in the last 20 minutes but we couldn’t get the tying goal through,” Riverside coach Mert Deger said.

“I knew it would be a tough game. We felt we matched up well in every part of the field. We had four or five decent chances, but we couldn’t convert. That hurt us.”

Deger said the Rebels (10-9) fought hard but lacked some necessary energy to make an uphill climb after falling behind 2-0, with five members of the team fighting an illness.

“We were physically weakened, and it made a difference,” Deger said.

“They gutted it out and battled the whole way.”

Though the loss was disappointing for a Riverside team that hoped to make a run, Deger said he’s excited to see most of this group return next season. RA will lose three senior starters — Roussel, Brandi Perrin and Erica Delaneuville — and will otherwise bring back the core of a very young team, including leading scorer Taylor Aubert, who scored 20 goals and is only a sophomore.

Deger said the Rebels will miss the contributions of the three seniors, including Delaneuville, who started playing this season for the first time and earned playing time in the absence of defender Lizzie Oubre, who was out for the final seven games of the season.

“We missed (Oubre),” Deger said. “But Erica did a fantastic job stepping up. She played her heart out.”