Sports Report January 2, 2024

For information on membership, sponsorships, spirit items, digital tickets, VSN subscription, and more, please click here.

Many thanks to the following Green N White Club corporate sponsors for their support this year:

Bollinger Shipyards

LaFleur & Laborde

Tulane Doctors

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The Chloe

CMS's Services LLC

Dawn Services

First Horizon Bank

Landry & Swarr LLC, Attorney-at-Law

Manning Passing Academy

Ashley and J.T. Nesser

Taceaux Loceaux

Walker & Dunlop

Woodward Design+Build

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Auto-Chlor, Bayou Hot Wings,

C. Collection, Betsy and Gary Laborde,

Marquette Transportation, Midway Pizza,

K. Miller Gem and Jewelry Brokerage,

Moses Engineering, NOLA Chill, Seatrax,

Stretch Zone, tasc Performance,

Vendisco Culinary Services, Villere & Co.

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Black Bay Energy Capital,

The Chicory House | The Garden District Book Shop,

Deirdre and Hal Moffett, Entablature - Design/Build,

Amy Farnsworth Designs, Lovell and Company

Boys Basketball

Newman returned to the Sunkist Shootout in Lafayette as the defending champions from last year. In the first game against Patterson High School, we started slow but as the game was played the Greenies picked up their intensity.  Patterson was no match for Newman due to the quickness of our guards and our size under the basket.  The final score was Newman 60, Patterson 44.  

The second game against Lafayette Christian Academy was a rematch with the opponent from the State Championship game two years ago. The game went down to the last second and LCA was able to outlast Newman to advance to the semifinals.  The final score was LCA 52, Newman 51.  

Newman’s next opponent was St. Thomas Aquinas of Hammond, LA. Defensively Newman struggled with STA guards making several contested outside shots. Newman made a run in the second half of the game but ran out of time. The final score was St. Thomas Aquinas 62, Newman 55. 

In the final game of the tournament, Newman played Catholic High School from New Iberia. Catholic guard play was on full display hitting the three ball at a high clip. Newman eventually figured things out with full court pressure which turned into a lot of scoring opportunities. The Greenies showed a lot of grit and toughness to pull out the win against Catholic NI.  Also, our senior leader Todd Jones, Jr. dominated from the inside with monster put back dunks and several defensive blocked shots.  In a tough overtime game the final score was Newman 65, Catholic NI 60.   This overtime win was definitely a confidence booster for this young team. 

Up next, the Greenies will tip off January 4-7 in the Alario Center at the Allstate Sugar Bowl National Prep Classic. 

Girls Basketball

The Newman girls basketball team was in action on Thursday December 28th vs Thibodaux at St Joe’s in Baton Rouge. Newman led off with a big first quarter by Anaya Yanusah. She scored 12 of her team high 26 in the first quarter. Talia Parnes also added a bucket on a nice jump shot. At the end of the first quarter the greenies led 17-11. In the second quarter Sanaa Bean scored 7 points and grabbed many rebounds. The greenies went to halftime with a 26-22 lead. But in the third quarter foul trouble sent Bean to the bench and Thibodaux closed the gap. Our backup center, Stella Joyce, came to the rescue. She was able to control the boards and add 7 quick 4th quarter points . The Greenies fought off Thibodaux and the final score was 55-42, as Newman picked up another victory.

The next game was Friday, December 29th vs Parkview also at St Joe’s in Baton Rouge. This was a rematch of last year’s state semi-finals. The game led off with a couple of buckets by Anaya Yanusa and Talia Parnes but the Greenies quickly fell behind as Parkview hit three 3 point baskets in a row. At the end of the first quarter the Greenies were down 21-11. Newman added baskets by Maddie Hebert and Jessica Taranto but by halftime Parkview was up 43-22. The Greenies fought hard and reduced the deficit but in the end Newman fell to Parkview. 

Please join us January 3rd @ 5:30 pm in the Alario Center as we play Edna Karr. 

Boys Soccer

After racking up six wins and a draw, mostly against district opponents, the Newman soccer boys program upped the competition during the holiday break to prepare for an arduous schedule in January.  On Tuesday (12/19) and Wednesday (12/20), the varsity boys played friendlies in Covington against two strong Mississippi teams, Ocean Springs High School and Jackson Preparatory School.  With the results not counting toward the Louisiana power rankings, Coach Tooraj Badie used the opportunity to experiment with new positions for some of the regulars and audition some promising underclassmen.  

In the first match, the Greenies played strong defense and had some nice opportunities, with especially keen distributions from Luke Mobley and shots on target by Rylan Claverie.  However, the boys were unable to convert and ultimately conceded a Greyhound goal midway through the second half to make it 0-1 and hand them  their first loss of the season.

In the Jackson Prep game, Boyce Batten led off the scoring with a penalty kick in the 15th minute but the Patriots answered with an equalizer just before halftime.  In the second half, the Greenies showcased their young talent, including goalkeepers Henry Houghton and Archie Casbarian, and field players Veer Walia, Atticus LaFleur, Roan Plymale and Nicholas Coffin.  In the 59th minute, Newman did take the lead, briefly, with a penalty kick by Claverie.  However, the Patriots responded with two quick goals of their own and were able to hold on for a 3-2 friendly win over the Green and White.

Meanwhile, back in New Orleans, the junior varsity boys, with many of their starters out on loan to the senior squad, played hard but lost 1-3 to a strong JV side from Archbishop Rummel.  The JV boys followed up with a Friday night matchup at home with Jesuit High School, but it was just the visitors’ night, resulting in a 5-0 win for the Blue Jays.

On Friday (12/22), the varsity boys played their fourth game of the week, this one in Hammond against St. Thomas Aquinas High School on the NFHS Network here.  In the 12th minute, a foul at the top of the 18-yard box gave the Falcons a penalty kick, but a fingertip save by a diving Journey Manson jogged the ball into the post.   In the 29th minute, a Falcons midfielder delivered a nice ball to an attacking winger.  His first shot was blocked by Manson, but the ball careened back to the attacker and this time, he was able to finish with his right foot.  Just before halftime, though, Alex Dulitz slotted a sweet through ball to Rylan Claverie, who punched the ball past the oncoming keeper to equal the score at 1-1.  In the second half, the Greenies took the lead with some nifty passing in the penalty area and a punch in by Dulitz.  From there, the Greenies dominated possession and looked set to bring home the victory.  Unfortunately, though, a late foul just outside the box gave the Falcons a free kick, which they converted with an exquisite left footer into the top right hand corner to salvage a 2-2 draw.

After another short break for Christmas, the varsity boys took on Archbishop Rummel High School (D-2), in Metairie last Thursday (12/28).  In just the second minute of the match, Rummel’s striker broke free and surprised the Greenies with an opening score.  Recognizing their good fortune, the Raiders were able to sit back in a tight formation, rely on their strong back line and stall at every opportunity.  The Greenies had a few chances, especially on headers from corners and free kicks, but each time the efforts nearly missed or were smothered by the Rummel keeper.  Late in the second half, the Raiders added an insurance goal with a sailing cross and score, handing the Greenies (6-1-2) their first official loss of the season.

On Saturday (1/6) at 1pm, the varsity boys will host Louisiana State University Laboratory School (U-High), followed by a JV boys match against The Willow School at 3pm.  On Monday (1/8), the JV boys will play away at Holy Cross School. 

Girls Soccer

The Newman varsity girls returned from exams with a tough matchup on Saturday afternoon (12/16) against Mount Carmel Academy (D-1).  In the cold and steady rain, the Greenies were aggressive and controlled most of the first half.  In the 21st minute, Genevieve Plaisance’s corner kick ratted around the Cubs’ goal area before Avery Summerour slammed the ball high into the back of the net for the first score of the game.  Late in the first half, however, a Greenies handball near midfield led to a Mount Carmel free kick that landed with a Cubs attacker and ultimately skipped off a Greenies defender for an equalizing own goal.  Right before halftime, the Greenies regained the lead with a shot from a straight-on free kick of their own, again thanks to the tandem of G. Plaisance and Summerour.  In the second half, the Greenies withstood a more organized attack, but the defense rose to the challenge and preserved the 2-1 victory.

On Monday 12/18, the varsity girls hosted International High School of New Orleans for their third district match of the season.  In the 19th second, Lili Arjmand fired a missile from distance to give Newman the lead, and she added another goal against the Panthers a few minutes later.  Sydney Gallagher, Avery Summerour, Catherine Lapeyre, Genevieve Plaisance, and Sarah Gibbs Smallpage also added goals in the first and only half of the contest, as Newman improved their district record to 3-0 and their overall record to 8-0.

On Wednesday 12/20, one of D-1’s top flight programs, St. Scholastica Academy (6-1), traveled in from Covington for a match on VSN.  As reported by NOLA.com here, the Doves fired off 12 shots, but two sailed just wide and 10 were stopped by Newman goalkeepers CeCe Pinkerton and Bizzie Guy, who split time in goal.  Newman’s best chance to score was in the 26th minute, when a point blank shot by center back Sydney Gallagher was parried away by the Doves keeper during a corner kick sequence.  Despite being the better team for the bulk of the second half, the Greenies were unable to score and the girls settled for a scoreless draw (0-0).    

On Friday 12/22, another premier D-1 program, undefeated St. Mary’s Dominican High School (14-0-1), visited Michael Lupin Field with designs on handing the Greenies their first loss in 26 matches.  As reported by the Times-Picayune and NOLA.com here, sophomore CeCe Pinkerton and freshman Bizzie Guy both had impressive saves in goal, including Pinkerton’s dive to the right to stop a shot by Dominican’s striker in the first half.  In the second half, Dominican scored on a nice break for a 1-0 lead, but with about six minutes remaining, Sydney Gallagher dribbled through traffic before laying off a pass to Brooke Montano in the right side of the penalty area.  Montano charged to the goal but when the Dominican keeper cut off the near post, she delivered a pass in the middle to Lili Arjmand, who’s outstretched left foot bounced the ball off the left post and into the back of the net.  Then in stoppage time, a Newman corner kick bounced around and way out of the penalty area to center back Claire Charpentier.  After sliding past a defender, Charpentier drilled a shot with her left foot that caught the bottom of the cross bar and bounced to the ground and just over the goal line, for the thrilling 2-1 game winner.  Highlights on X (formerly known as Twitter), courtesy of @VSNLouisiana, are here.

Next up, on Tuesday (1/2 ) at 7pm, the varsity girls will host the annual Uptown Derby against Academy of the Sacred Heart (9-1-3).  Admission is free for Newman faculty, staff and students, and others can purchase $5 tickets here.  On Thursday (1/4 ), the JV girls will play at Parkview Baptist School.  Then on Saturday (1/6) at 11am, the varsity girls are home against Louisiana State University Laboratory School (U-High), followed by a road trip on Monday (1/8), to Parkview Baptist in Baton Rouge.  

Upcoming Schedule

See the latest Newman sports schedule here. 

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