When Denham Springs and St. Amant met back on Jan. 21, the Lady Yellow Jackets rolled to a 5-2 victory.
Things were much different on Friday night.
Hosting a playoff game for the first time since 2013, Denham Springs showed its lack of postseason experience early.
The Lady Jackets fell into a 1-0 hole eight minutes into the contest. They were never able to respond.
The 20th-seeded Lady Gators eventually added another goal late to polish off a 2-0 upset victory.
“We have a very young group that only graduates two seniors, so we’re learning how to win, learning how to compete and learning how to play in big games,” Denham Springs coach Jeff Klug said. “This was another first for them— a home playoff game against a very good district rival. We came out a little nervous at first and gave one up early before we settled in.”
St. Amant wasted no time going on the offensive.
At the seventh minute, a Lady Gator goal was negated by an offsides call. However, just one minute later, Nya Bridgewater scored to give St. Amant a 1-0 lead.
Denham Springs goalkeeper Claire Findley was forced to make a leaping save at minute 13.
Conversely, the Lady Jackets struggled to mount any offense in the first half. They were only able to get off two shots on goal.
Their best chance to score came at the 34th minute.
Allie Wilkes was fouled inside the box, prompting a Chloe Bueche penalty pick. But St. Amant keeper Addison Champagne came through with a diving save.
Denham Springs tried to tie the game in the second half, but the Lady Jackets could never break through.
At the 72nd minute, Alisa Normand sent a hot shot toward the St. Amant net, but Champagne stretched out to make an exceptional save.
At minute 78, Bridgewater was able to race past all Denham Springs defenders. Her goal put the game out of reach for the Lady Jackets.
“We didn’t finish when we had opportunities,” Klug said. “We had a good spell of about 25 minutes in the second half where we were knocking on the door, but we couldn’t get the ball in the back of the net. The effort was there. The kids were giving everything they had.
“Hats off to St. Amant. They’re a very good team. We knew when we beat them the first time that it was a solid win. They have very good players, and we knew they were capable of punishing us in certain scenarios. We just had to execute, and we lacked a little bit of that.”
Denham Springs fell short in capturing its first playoff victory since 2018 but chalked up an impressive 14-5-2 overall record and a runner-up finish in the district.
After winning their final six regular-season games, they were able to earn the 13th seed in the Division I playoffs.
“I’ve been super-proud of the girls this whole season. It’s the best season our school has ever had in girl’s soccer, and we’re going to continue to build on that,” Klug said. “This group and I got together about 16 months ago, and we’re going to continue to improve. I have no doubt that these kids will be back next year with this experience and this hunger. I expect really great things from them.”
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