BY MATT VINES, The DeSoto Parish Journal
STONEWALL – No matter what happens in the LHSAA Division II soccer playoffs, North DeSoto’s girls will already have their names in the record books.
The Lady Griffins won a record 15 matches this season, but North DeSoto wants to up the tally.
The No. 6 seed Lady Griffins (15-7-4) will have that chance Friday when they host No. 27 New Orleans Military and Maritime Academy (9-10) at 5 p.m.
“The girls have really applied the little things to each game,” said North DeSoto coach Morgan Ersoff. “They have worked as a team and played together.
“We will just need to continue to play our game and stick to our game plan. When we’ve done that, we’ve seen good results.”
One of those results happened to be a loss.
After a 9-1 loss to Caddo Magnet on Saturday with the District 1-II championship on the line, North DeSoto played much better in a 3-1 loss to Division I Benton.
“In our match against Benton, we played as a team more than we have all season,” Ersoff said. “The girls went out there and proved to themselves what our team can accomplish.
“We can compete with anyone, and this is what will give us a great chance to make a deep run in the playoffs. Benton tied Byrd this season, which has competed with the best across the state all season.”
The Lady Griffins also battled Captain Shreve earlier last week, arguably the best team in this corner of the state, in a 4-0 loss.
Before North DeSoto can make a playoff run, it has to take care of business Friday against New Orleans Military and Maritime.
The Academy is a is a charter school in which all students are in the JROTC. They made a push into the playoffs by winning two of their last three matches.
North DeSoto continued its playoff streak dating back to 2010, and the Lady Griffins have advanced to the second round in their last seven playoff appearances.
But that’s when the Lady Griffins have run into trouble, having just one quarterfinals appearance in their program’s history (2018).
A deep playoff run could set North DeSoto on a collision course with No. 2 Caddo Magnet, whom the Lady Griffins could see in the semifinals if both teams advance that far.
But NDHS knows it can’t get ahead of itself, and that starts Friday with NOMMA.
A high-powered offense led by Melanie Windham (29 goals) and Chloe Phillips (13 goals) is bolstered by a stout defense that’s held 17 of its 26 opponents to one goal or less, including 11 shutouts.
And with just two seniors (Emily Long and Ella Cosby), North DeSoto appears to be a fixture on the Division II stage for years to come.