MICHAEL KIRAL

PHOTO: HAHNVILLE’S TIM SIRMON battles for the ball during the first half Saturday afternoon. (Staff Photo by Michael Kiral) NEW ORLEANS – Brother Martin did it to Hahnville again, eliminating the Tigers from the District I quarterfinals with a 2-0 victory Saturday afternoon at Tad Gormley Stadium. It was the second straight year that the Crusaders ended Hahnville’s season. Brother Martin defeated the Tigers in a shootout in the regionals in 2000, also at Tad Gormley. Brother Martin, which improved to 27-5-2 on the season, advanced to play Lafayette in the semifinals. Lafayette defeated Carencro, 4-2, Saturday. Hahnville, the District 7-I champions, finished the season at 24-7. Both teams had chances in the opening minutes of the game. In the first minute, Brad Berthelot took a pass on the right side from Travis Webre and crossed a shot that went just wide left. Brandon Guillory followed with a chip that was grabbed by Crusader goalie Kenny Eastin. Brother Martin then went on the attack with Derek Valen taking a turnover in the left side of the box and drilling in a shot that was saved by Hahnville goalie Matt Cummins. Ryan Rhoton then took a pass from Valen and tried a shot that was knocked down by Nathan McClendon. Rhoton grabbed the rebound but shot wide left. Tim Sirmon defended away the next attack by Brad Gravolet. Gravolet then sliced in a shot from the right side that was grabbed by Cummins. Four minutes later, Guillory took a shot from the right side that went through the crease. Jeff Kerlec chased down the shot on the left side and drilled a shot toward the left corner of the net that deflected away by a diving Eastin. Brother Martin finally broke through with 21:18 remaining in the half. Ricky Gauthier took a deflection off a throw in and tried a shot that was knocked down. Gauthier took the rebound and while slipping down, drilled a shot into the right side of the net, giving the Crusaders a 1-0 lead. Hahnville had a chance to tie the game with 14 minutes left as Webre chipped in a shot to Adam Bordelon. Bordelon tapped a shot toward the right corner but Eastin was there to dive on it. Cummins kept it a one-goal game with a diving stop of a shot by Brian Vega toward the left side of the net in the final minute. Hahnville had the first opportunity of the second half as Bordelon took a pass from Shawn Mire and directed a kick toward the right side of the net that was grabbed by Eastin. The Hahnville defense came up with two key stops in the early minutes of the half. First it was Berthelot defending away a shot by Gravolet from the left side. Then with 27:45 left in the game, George Bell passed ahead to Matt Lovitt. Lovitt charged in and sent a shot that got past Cummins. Guillory chased down the ball and knocked it away just before it crossed the goal line. Hahnville had its best chance with 20:30 left as Webre sent a pass to Garrick Gomez in the box. But before Gomez could get the shot off, Danny Heine came from behind to kick the ball away. Webre followed with a shot from just beyond the box but had it grabbed by Eastin. Hahnville kept up the attack as Webre had a shot knocked away by Alex Hamilton. Bordelon followed with a shot that was grabbed by Eastin. Cummins made a diving stop of a shot in front by Valen with 6:45 left. But with just over two minutes left in regulation time, Bell took a pass off a steal by Lovitt, moved in and drilled a shot past Cummins, making it 2-0. “We had our chances in the second half,” Hahnville head coach Rafael de Vega said. “We came out flat in the first half and gave them too much space and time. Brother Martin is a good team. You give them space and time, they will hurt you. Against a good team, you pay for your mistakes.”