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St. Aloysius soccer players Jaden Wheeldon (00) and Corbin Burroughs (4) celebrate after Wheeldon scored a goal Tuesday against Bayou Academy. The goal was nullified by an offsides call, but Wheeldon later assisted on a goal to help the Flashes to a 3-2 victory. (Ernest Bowker/The Vicksburg Post)

St. Aloysius' Corbin Burroughs, right, tries to get past Bayou Academy defender Pittman Crews during Tuesday's game. (Ernest Bowker/The Vicksburg Post)

St. Aloysius' Eli Shiers (18) plays the ball between two Bayou Academy defenders during Tuesday's game at Balzli Field. (Ernest Bowker/The Vicksburg Post)

St. Aloysius' senior soccer players, from left, Corbin Burroughs, Marques Flowers, Jaden Wheeldon, Sam Hall, Dalton Windham, JR McCain, Eli Shiers, Brody Barnett and John Ellis Montgomery, pose for a photo before senior night festivities Tuesday at Balzli Field. (Ernest Bowker/The Vicksburg Post)

St. Aloysius soccer player jaden Wheeldon reacts after his goal was nullified by an offsides call in the first half of Tuesday's game against Bayou Academy. (Ernest Bowker/The Vicksburg Post)

St. Aloysius' Sam Ashley (15) plays the ball against Bayou Academy. (Ernest Bowker/The Vicksburg Post)

St. Aloysius overcame an early deficit with two quick thunderstrikes, then punched its ticket to the MAIS boys’ soccer playoffs with a third.

Dalton Windham and Corbin Burroughs each had a goal and an assist, and Sam Hall also scored a goal as St. Al beat Bayou Academy 3-2 on Tuesday to clinch a playoff berth.

“I told my boys that they’re not going to give you this. The refs aren’t going to give it to you, Bayou’s not going to give it to you. If you want to go to the playoffs you’ve got to go take it, and that’s what they did,” St. Al coach Jay Madison said.

St. Al (11-3-1, 2-2 MAIS Division II West) earned the No. 2 seed from the West Division over Bayou (3-11, 0-3) in what was an elimination game for both teams. The Flashes will go on the road to play the East Division champion in the first round on Feb. 6.

“It feels great, man. We deserve it. We’ve been working hard all season,” Burroughs said of making the playoffs. “I’m just so proud of this team right now.”

Most of the first half had a theme of missed opportunities for the Flashes. Jaden Wheeldon had a goal nullified by an offsides call, and in the seventh minute Windham hit the crossbar with a shot. Hall followed up Windham’s rebound with a header that went wide.

Bayou, meanwhile, stole an early lead on a controversial goal. Mason Davis bounced a low, squirrelly grounder toward the net that crossed up St. Al keeper Marques Flowers. Flowers stopped the shot while laying on his back, and officials ruled he was straddling the goal line. The ball was across the line, so Davis was awarded the goal and Bayou a 1-0 lead in the 12th minute.

It lasted until just before halftime, when Hall knocked in a throw-in from Wheeldon in the 35th minute. Less than two minutes after that, Windham got a long pass from Burroughs, ripped up the right sideline on a breakaway, and scored to put the Flashes ahead 2-1.

“It was like Mr. Clean. Just get rid of everything. It made the problems go away when we got those two quick goals,” Burroughs said.

St. Al controlled most of the play in the second half and scored what appeared to be the clincher with five minutes to go. Windham crossed the ball from right to left to set up Burroughs, who juked Bayou keeper Kellen Allen just enough to get him out of position. Burroughs roofed a hard shot into the top of the net to make it 3-1.

Getting to the postseason was not going to be that easy for the Flashes, though. Bayou’s Caleb Mullins scored with less than two minutes to go and the Colts pressed hard for the equalizer during nearly five minutes of extra time.

Bayou had two throw-ins and a corner kick from inside the 18-yard line in the last two minutes, and got the ball on the ground following each one. St. Al’s defense kept the Colts from getting a good foot on the ball or a well-placed deflection, though, and held strong to preserve the 3-2 victory.

Flowers finished the game with five saves. The last came on a long free kick that he cradled in both arms as the final whistle blew.

“They really stepped up,” Madison said of his defense.

About Ernest Bowker

Ernest Bowker is The Vicksburg Post's sports editor. He has been a member of The Vicksburg Post's sports staff since 1998, making him one of the longest-tenured reporters in the paper's 140-year history. The New Jersey native is a graduate of LSU. In his career, he has won more than 50 awards from the Mississippi Press Association and Associated Press for his coverage of local sports in Vicksburg.

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