HAMMOND, La. (WGNO) — The Willow School Lions defeat the Bossier Bearcats, 4-1 to claim the Division III state championship Thursday night at Strawberry Stadium.
The Lions came out of the gates in attack mode, with Liam McDermott scoring on a corner kick in the opening minutes.
In the 14th minute, Sebastian Salm would provide Willow some cushion by banking in a free kick from 45 yards out, giving the Lions the 2-0 lead in the first half.
Bossier would respond with a goal in the 27th minute to cut the Lions’ lead to 1 but that would be their only goal of the afternoon.
Willow would go into the half with a 3-1 lead courtesy of an Alexander Lupin goal in the 33rd minute.
The night’s final goal would come in the 60th minute from the game’s Most Outstanding Player, Tenchi Otten-Rashad, that sealed the Lions’ state championship win.
The Willow School pieced together an impressive game, scoring 4 goals against a Bossier team that allowed only 14 on the year. This marks the Lions’ first state title since 2021.