Sulphur soccer team has already left its mark
Published 11:39 am Tuesday, February 18, 2014
Sulphur High’s boys soccer team may be embracing the role of underdog in the Division I playoffs, but, that doesn’t mean they’re scared of anyone left in the field.
The Golden Tors, the lowest remaining seed of any team in the three divisions at No. 14, hope to continue their playoff run today at 5 p.m. against No. 6-seed Jesuit.
St. Louis will host Catholic-New Iberia at 6:30 p.m. in Division III boys play. But it is Sulphur making noise this year.
“It’s a little bit of both, I guess,” Sulphur head coach Trevor Foolkes said. “This season we told the guys we don’t really fear anybody in the state. In years past we weren’t afraid, but just sort of intimidated, especially by teams ranked in the top-3.”
Sulphur got that monkey off its back by beating No. 3 Catholic-Baton Rouge 2-1 in overtime last Thursday. Senior Ruston Logan scored the game-winning goal off of a header to set up the team’s first trip to the quarterfinals since 2004 and the second-consecutive game Sulphur plays against a top-10 team in its division.
Though it’s been a decade since Sulphur was in this position, the Golden Tors feel prepared for the lights of the quarterfinals because of their district schedule.
“ … With our district being so hard, with Acadiana and Lafayette we competed very well with them,” Foolkes said. “We still have that mentality of the underdog but we don’t really fear anybody this season.
Acadiana and Lafayette, both top-5 seeds in Division I, play each other in the quarter finals.
Sulphur, despite its seeding, boasts talent and confidence of its own. Junior goalkeeper Bradley Bosco recorded 12 saves against Catholic-Baton Rouge, although according to Foolkes that number takes away from his team’s total defensive effort in that contest.
“To be honest, only three or four of them were really saves,” Foolkes said. “Our defense did an outstanding job in that game. Bradley’s probably one of the best goalkeepers we’ve had in many years at Sulphur. He’s just a junior, so he’s got a bit more of growing and development to do.”
Getting one more performance like that wouldn’t hurt Sulphur’s quest for glory at all.
“(We’re) fired up and very excited. We know the task at hand,” Foolkes said. “We’re very excited but down to earth and know that to advance we’ll have to pull another upset.”
