Bolton ends Tigers postseason run

In a game dominated by defensive stops, it was a two-goal outburst by Bolton High School early into the second period that proved to be the difference in the visiting Bears’ 2-0 victory against Morgan City in the Division II high school soccer quarterfinals Monday.
While No. 3 Bolton (18-7-3) dominated on offense in the first half and had other opportunities in the second half, the Morgan City defense, particularly goalie Daniel Valadez, stood tall in keeping the Alexandria-based school’s offensive success to a minimum.
Conversely, the No. 11 Tigers (12-9-3) had some opportunities for goals in the first half but more in the second half. However, time and again, the Bolton defense was there to thwart any Morgan City attempt.
In the second half, Bolton got on the board in the 43rd minute when Brady Laborde knocked in a goal off a corner kick by John Duck.
The Bears struck again roughly nine minutes later when Nic Mboungou, off an assist from Duck, kicked a shot over Valadez, who had come up in defense, for a 2-0 lead and what ended up being the final.
“It’s a huge win,” Bolton head coach Jeremy Poklemba said. “No other team has advanced to the semifinal in our school history, so it’s a huge step for us. That was three years in a row in the quarterfinal and finally this team was able to put it together and advance. It was great.”
Morgan City coach Trevor Patterson said Bolton played well on defense.
“We just couldn’t get it past them,” Patterson said. “Bolton is No. 3 for a reason, but I truthfully felt we were evenly matched.”
While Bolton had multiple attempts near the Morgan City goal in the first half, the Tigers’ real threats came via a shot by Wilmer Lopez that was caught at the top of the net by Bolton goal keeper Jacob Guillot and two free kicks by Morgan City that Guillot stopped.
Earlier in the half, Bolton’s defense broke up a run deep in their territory by Morgan City’s Miguel Perez.
Also in the first half, Valadez made a diving save on a Bolton attempt and later another Bolton attempt was thwarted by Morgan City.
Morgan City had several second-half opportunities, including several times Irving Delgado had the ball deep in Bolton territory but could get nothing to go.
With time winding down, the Tigers had multiple attempts near the Bolton goal but again, could not knock the ball in.
“Defense has done great. … Second half of the year they’ve really just put on a clinic,” Poklemba said.
With the win, Bolton now will advance to the state semifinals where it will host No. 7 seed Ben Franklin Saturday.
Monday’s game was the last for Morgan City seniors, Delgado and Hector Calderon, who Patterson called “two great boys.”
As for Delgado, Patterson said he was “a great forward and then a playmaker in the midfield.”
Calderon, Patterson said, played defense for the squad and also would move up the field to offense and score for the Tigers.
“As a defender, he would come up for headers on corner kicks,” Patterson said. “He kind of controlled the defense for us.”
While the Tigers have a small senior class, Patterson said some of his other players will not be returning, too, meaning there will be multiple holes to fill.
Still, he agreed he has a good foundation and was hopeful he could get some other kids to come out for soccer.
“We’ll always have it (soccer) at Morgan City High and I thank the school … for allowing us to have it,” Patterson said.