Demopolis soccer falls 2-0 to St. Paul’s in second round

The Demopolis High soccer team (12-4) saw its season come to an end Tuesday evening as St. Paul’s hung a pair of second half goals for a 2-0 win in the second round of the AHSAA playoffs.

Will Pickard chipped in the first score of the game with 31:30 remaining in the second half, allowing St. Paul’s to shift its focus largely toward sitting on the lead.

At the 22:10 mark, Luke Lamonte found the net again, setting the Saints up 2-0.

Demopolis managed 13 shots on goal in the game and saw its best chance to score come off a free kick by Adam Brooker that was masterfully bent over a crowd and under the crossbar before being snared by Saint keeper Seydina Ndaw.

The Tigers appeared poised to score again when Austin Brooks headed a cross toward an open goal before St. Paul defender Crawford Phillips returned it to sender with a header of his own.

Under fire for much of the first half, Demopolis saw Cristian Velez go from one end of the pitch to the other in the closing seconds of the first half only to have his pass snagged by Ndaw to nullify the threat.

Ndaw finished the game with 10 saves. James Woods had seven saves for Demopolis.

The loss caps a season in which the Tigers punched their ticket to the AHSAA second round for the first time in program history.