By Daniel Green |  BWS Sports

LEESVILLE — One of the most successful seasons in recent Leesville history ended Tuesday night as the ninth-ranked Wampus Cats fell to the top-seeded Terriers of Vandebilt Catholic, 5-0, in the quarterfinals of the LHSAA Division iII soccer playoffs.

With the loss, the Wampus Cats finished the season with a 17-6-1 mark, one of the best in school history. This quarterfinal appearance was the second in school history for the Wampus Cats and the first time the team hosted the game.

But in order to reach the quarterfinals to host a match, the Wampus Cats had to journey on Saturday to eighth-seeded St. Michael.

Leesville came out of the gates hot and scored three times in the first half before holding off a second-half barrage in coming away with a 3-0 win.

Alvaro Chicharro got Leesville out to a 1-0 lead about six minutes in with a goal, which was followed up in the 20th minute by Ryan Pena.

A little later, Will McShan netted a goal, pushing the Wampus Cats out to a 3-0 lead at the break.

From there, the defense did the rest as senior keeper Caden Catron withstood a barrage of shots, including a stretch of five consecutive shots on goal without letting one get by.

Catron finished the match with 16 saves.

The loss to Vandebilt Catholic marked the end of the line for 10 seniors, a group of athletes who made quite the impression on Leesville head coach Jacob Chambers.

“Our 10 seniors have worked hard for this program,” Chambers said. “They have shown their passion for the game and it showed on the field.”