Keister Clean Sheet, Mayle PK Lift Leopards Past Fighting Irish 1-0 in Sectional – Boys Soccer
Louisville 1, St. Vincent-St. Mary 0
VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS COMING SOON
<<< At Tallmadge | Boys Soccer Schedule
The #23-seeded Louisville Leopards Boys Varsity Soccer Team advanced in the Division III Northeast 2 tournament with a 1-0 shutout victory over the visiting #34 St. Vincent-St. Mary Fighting Irish in a Sectional Semifinal Monday night at Louisville Leopards Stadium.
Maddox Mayle converted a first-half penalty kick for the only goal of the match, while goalkeeper Justin Keister made eight saves and the Louisville defense preserved the clean sheet. With the victory, the Leopards advance to Saturday’s DIII Northeast 2 Sectional Final at Alliance against the #15-seeded Aviators.
St. Vincent-St. Mary finishes its season at 7-10-1 as its two-game winning streak comes to an end.
Early Chances Keep Match Scoreless
Both teams generated opportunities during the opening 20 minutes, but neither could break through.
St. Vincent-St. Mary threatened off a corner kick in the eighth minute when JJ Pytash rose for a header that sailed just inches over the crossbar.
Louisville came even closer in the 19th minute. Dominic Collier delivered a pass that set up Carter Busby with an open look from the right side of the penalty area, but Busby’s shot struck the crossbar to keep the match scoreless.
Mayle Converts Penalty Kick for 1-0 Lead
The game’s decisive sequence developed a short time later.
Brady Whitney initially made a strong defensive challenge inside the box to win possession for the Fighting Irish, but Maddox Rodriguez immediately won the ball back for Louisville. Rodriguez dribbled inside the right side of the penalty area before Whitney challenged again and was whistled for a foul, awarding the Leopards a penalty kick.
Mayle stepped to the spot and buried his attempt into the left side of the net with 18:41 remaining in the first half to put Louisville ahead 1-0.
The goal was Mayle’s seventh of the season.
Louisville carried the one-goal advantage into halftime and continued to generate pressure after the break. Unofficially, the Leopards finished with a 25-14 advantage in total shot attempts and a 12-9 edge in shots on goal. Fighting Irish junior goalkeeper Matthew Kalail helped keep his team within striking distance by making nine saves.
Keister and Leopards Preserve Clean Sheet
One goal proved to be enough thanks to Louisville’s defense and another strong performance by Keister in net.
St. Vincent-St. Mary continued searching for the equalizer deep into the second half, but the Leopards consistently turned away the pressure.
One of the Irish’s best late opportunities came with just under three minutes remaining. St. Vincent-St. Mary sent a corner kick into the box, but Evan Swope knocked the initial service away. The ball eventually came back into the area and Whitney headed an attempt toward goal, where Keister was waiting to secure his eighth and final save of the night.
The Fighting Irish threatened once more in the 79th minute, but a long-range attempt from roughly 30 yards sailed well over the crossbar and through the football uprights.
Louisville controlled the remaining time from there to finish off the 1-0 tournament victory.
Both teams earned four corner kicks in the match.
Leopards Continue Home Tournament Success
The victory improved Louisville to 25-26 all-time in postseason play and 3-2 in tournament matches since moving to Division III in 2024.
The Leopards are now 14-8 all-time in home tournament games and have won six of their last seven postseason matches played at home. Their only loss during that stretch came in their previous home tournament appearance, a 2-1 double-overtime setback against Aurora in the 2023 District Semifinals.
Head coach Jared Komo also improved to 14-8 in postseason play. Komo now owns three more tournament victories than all previous Louisville boys soccer coaches combined, despite coaching seven fewer postseason matches. Louisville’s previous coaches combined for an 11-18 tournament record.
<<< 2025 At Marlington | Boys Soccer Tournament History
Louisville Improves to 3-1 Against Fighting Irish
Monday was the fourth all-time meeting between Louisville and St. Vincent-St. Mary but the first to occur in the postseason.
The Leopards improve to 3-1 against the Fighting Irish all-time and 2-1 in games played at Louisville. St. Vincent-St. Mary also became the 32nd different opponent Louisville has faced in tournament play.
Louisville won the first two meetings in the series, 3-1 at home in 2019 and 4-1 on the road in 2020. St. Vincent-St. Mary answered with a 6-1 victory at Louisville in 2021 before the series resumed with Monday’s sectional matchup.
<<< Previous 2021 | St. Vincent-St. Mary All-Time Series
Leopards Advance to Sectional Final at Alliance
Louisville will now travel to face the Alliance Aviators in the Division III Northeast 2 Sectional Final on Saturday, October 24 at Rockhill Soccer Complex.
It will be the fourth postseason meeting between the longtime rivals and their first tournament matchup since 2010. Alliance will be Louisville’s second-most frequent postseason opponent with four meetings, trailing only Marlington, which the Leopards have faced seven times in tournament play.
Alliance enters the matchup at 11-4-2 and unbeaten in its last four contests. The Aviators won the regular-season meeting between the teams 2-1 at Rockhill Soccer Field on September 19.
UP NEXT: The #23 Louisville Leopards Boys Soccer Team will travel to take on the host #15 seed Alliance Aviators in the DIII Northeast 2 Sectional Finals on Saturday, October 24 at 7:00 PM.
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St. Vincent-St. Mary at Louisville Boys Varsity Soccer Box Score
LEOPARDS 1, FIGHTING IRISH 0
Team 1-2–TOTAL
SVSM 0-0–00
Louisville 1-0–01
1st Half
LOUISVILLE – Justin Keister PK | LHS 1, SVSM 0, 18:41
2nd Half
NO SCORING
Official Stats:
Corner Kicks: 4-4
Goalkeeper Saves: Justin Keister (Louisville) 8
Yellow Cards: Brandon Sanders (12:28 1st)
Unofficial Stats (Tallied By Leopard Nation from Game Video):
Shots on Goal: 12-9 Louisville
Shot Attempts: 25-14
Goalkeeper Saves: Matthew Kalail (SVSM) 9
Records: Louisville 8-6-3, St. Vincent-St. Mary 7-10-1
