Lady Tigers win Battle on the Bayou in dramatic shootout

Hahnville midfielder Kim Porche scored her team’s only goal in a 1-0 win over Morgan City.

For the first time in two years, the Hahnville Lady Tigers soccer team won the Battle on the Bayou tournament, which the school has hosted for more than a decade.

After finishing in second place for the last two seasons, the Lady Tigers claimed the championship that had eluded them in dramatic fashion, knocking off University High in a shootout.

Though neither team managed to score in regulation of the title game, the Lady Tigers won the championship in soccer’s version of overtime, 4-2. Seniors Marissa Aucoin, Grayson Touchard, Kaleigh Mayeux and junior Kim Porche all found the back of the net for Hahnville, while goal keeper Kristal Breaux came through with two key saves to give Hahnville the victory.

"During the game it was nerve racking. The stress level was pretty high," Hahnville head coach James Barrouquere said. "It felt a lot better after the game."

Hahnville advanced to the championship game after defeating East Jefferson, Morgan City and rival Destrehan.

Lady Tiger Kaylie Fabre led the way in her team’s 6-0 win over East Jefferson, scoring three goals. Taylor Laurent chipped in with two scores, while Emily Dupont also slammed a shot into the back of the net.

After Hahnville’s impressive offensive display in game one, they used a stifling defense to shut down their next opponents. Kim Porche’s goal was all Hahnville needed in a 1-0 victory over Morgan City and Erin Hargis’ shot and score helped the Lady Tigers put Destrehan away 1-0.

The only relative blemish on Hahnville’s tourney record was a 1-1 tie with Comeaux. Porche scored her team’s only goal in that game.

Already this season, Hahnville has shut out more non-district opponents than they did all of last year.

"Obviously I am very happy with how the team played. I thought we played well, especially on defense throughout the tournament," Barrouquere said. "Mentally, this is the best we’ve played in two years."

Barrouquere said his team has eight players who are either seeing action for the first time or starting in new positions. Because of that, he said it will take a while for the play of his offense to catch up to the play of his defense.

"Our defense is in great shape," he said. "We are not quite where we want to be yet because we have so many new starters and offensively it will take us some time to gel."

The Lady Tigers will travel to take on Chapelle on Saturday with the game scheduled to begin at 2 p.m. They will stay on the road to battle Mandeville on Wednesday, Dec. 12. That game is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m.

Click here to see a photo gallery from the tournament.