The pain of the home team was palpable in Tiger Stadium.
After one of the best regular seasons in team history, No. 5 Hahnville suffered a heart-wrenching loss to end its year on Friday night, as No. 28 seed Acadiana scored in the waning moments of overtime to capture a 1-0 opening round win.
The Rams’ Austin Domingue scored on a penalty kick in the box in the final minutes of the second of two 10-minute overtime periods. It was Acadiana’s second penalty kick of the night, the first missing high early in the second half.
But Acadiana would not let the second opportunity slip by.
“I love it … ranked at 28, we knew people didn’t think we could do it,” Domingue said, minutes after his game-winner. “We talked before the game – people aren’t expecting us. (Hahnville) played a great game, a lot of credit to them … but this feeling is unreal. I can’t describe it.”
Acadiana (8-11-2) advanced to face No. 12 West Monroe in the second round.
The loss was a crushing one for Hahnville (13-2-2) beyond a goal scored in the final moments.
The Tigers dominated possession on a night Acadiana prioritized keeping defensive numbers back and the score low. Even so, the Tigers played the majority of the game in Rams’ territory and generated numerous chances that simply couldn’t find the net.
Beyond that, what looked to be a go-ahead goal late in the first overtime by Hahnville’s Francisco Balderas in the first overtime was disallowed due to an offsides penalty.
Hahnville head coach Matt Oubre voiced disagreement to officials over both calls, but was measured after the game.
“We really got unlucky on that call with the PK … it didn’t go our way,” Oubre said. “Not too many calls went our way on that side of the field. We had one called back. It’s disheartening. Our boys worked so hard to prove how good we are and how good we can be.
“We created three or four very good opportunities that should have found the back of the net. And (Acadiana) had four guys clear those off the line. They were doing their work to get back and they played very well – credit to them.”
For much of the night, it seemed like it was just a matter of time for Hahnville to push through. Balderas just missed on a short kick with 24 minutes left in the first half. Owen Fontenot – one of the state’s most dangerous goal scorers – came up empty on two attempts late in the first half. A shot by Bennett Asperin off of a cross by Fontenot hit the crossbar.
Acadiana had a chance to take the lead with 31 minutes left in regulation when Eduar Hernandez got a penalty kick in the box – that kick sailed high, keeping the score tied at 0.
Late in the second half, another tough break came when a Balderas header set up by a Fontenot pass just missed. At another point, Fontenot, who got precious few chances without multiple defenders around him, freed himself with a nifty move and drew an anticipatory howl from the stands, but that shot just missed.
It was that kind of night for a Hahnville team that was unbeaten through its first 11 matches of the season despite losing several key players from last season’s strong team.
“It was actually surprising. We lost so many quality seniors from last year … I feel in many ways, we were even better this year,” Oubre said. “And we still have young guys on this team, the way we move the ball and see the field.
“We had a gameplan and we executed the gameplan, executed our chances and dominated the game. All of those chances … we just couldn’t get one through. I hurt for our guys, who deserved better. It’s just tough.”
