SCC soccer teams sweep district, head into playoffs

Published 12:01 am Saturday, February 4, 2017

LAPLACE — The St. Charles Catholic girls soccer team underwent an attitude adjustment this season.

Meanwhile, the boys team took their lumps early.

Both strategies paid off as both Comets teams finished the regular season as undefeated district champions.

The St. Charles girls finished 15-2-1 in the regular season and earned the No. 2 seed in the Division IV playoffs.

They earned a first round bye.

That has them sitting in the second round, waiting for the winner between No. 15 Riverside Academy and No. 18 Grace Christian. That game would be played next week.

The Comets boys team also swept the District 6-IV field and finished the regular season 11-8-1.

They earned the No. 12 seed and will host No. 21 Ascension Christian at noon today.

The winner will advance to a second round game to be played Thursday against No. 5 Westminster Christian.

Riverside’s boys, which had their best season in school history in 2016, did not make the playoffs this year, nor did either team from East St. John High.

Lady Comets coach Travis Trepagnier said the key to this season’s success was a change in thinking.

“I finally convinced them that getting to practice every day was important,” Trepagnier said.

“If you make practice as important as everything else, the hard work will pay off.”

That attitude also helped the team get through a tough stretch where injuries began to mount up, Trepagnier said, with utility player Eden Simoneaux filling in.

Regan Duffourc was the consistent scoring leader, while Colette Rainey led the defense.

Things weren’t going particularly well for the boys soccer team back in December, however.

The Comets, the defending District 6-IV champions, were off to a 1-6 start. Their only victory through the middle of the month was a 2-1 win over East St. John.

Coach Sean LeBlanc wasn’t too worried, however.

“We kind of front-loaded the schedule with some high competition,” LeBlanc said. “So we played teams like E.D. White and Rummel, some pretty big programs.”

The Comets took their lumps, for sure, but they also got better.

LeBlanc had a solid group returning from last year’s team, including 10 seniors. Goalkeeper Matthew Templet, who suffered a brutal injury at the end of last season, returned to the field this season.

Senior Andrew Rodrigue has been the consistent scorer, along with Jeffrey Cupit and Sutton Bourgeois.