After winning in its first-ever playoff match, the St. Aloysius Lady Flashes get to celebrate by hosting a second-round game today at Balzli Field against Winona at 2 p.m.

Lady Flashes coach Keiko Booth said her team used a fast start to jump on Corinth and hope to do the same against the visiting Lady Tigers (11-1).

Playoff schedule

Today

1 p.m. – (B) WC at

Northwest Rankin

at Jackson Academy

2 p.m. – (G) St. Aloysius

hosts Winona

Monday

5 p.m. – (G) Vicksburg

hosts Tupelo

Admission: $7

“We were an aggressive team and we pushed hard early. We scored quickly,” Booth said. “We’re very excited about being at home Saturday.”

Senior captain Marie Booth agreed with her coach.

“We played well up there. We got more shots than they did,” Marie Booth said.

Marie Booth and Rachel Thomas are two of eight seniors on the St. Al squad. Keiko Booth said that has been a big reason why the Lady Flashes (7-2-1) broke the playoff ice this season after a seven-year drought.

“These girls have been playing together for the last six years. They were focused on a goal and they made it happen,” she said.

Vicksburg High will have to wait a couple of days for its second-round Class 6A match against Tupelo. A major winter storm across the northern half of the state made travel treacherous, and forced the postponement of the game until Monday at 5 p.m. at Memorial Stadium.

The teams met in December’s Brooke Welch Tournament in Jackson, with Tupelo taking a 4-0 win. Vicksburg, however, was battling several problems. They had just lost their coach, Kevin Manton, to a sudden resignation and there were some other personnel issues as well.

“We had some girls out for that game,” said Vicksburg senior Lexi Foster.

The Missy Gators (10-9-3) have stablized under new coach David Case, making the playoffs for the second straight year. They won their first-round game 1-0 in an overtime shootout at DeSoto Central. They

“These girls have put a lot of heart in their practices and I think that helped us pull out the game at DeSoto. It was a nail-biter. They had a good number of shots but all of them were 18 yards out. We made it inside the six for a couple of shots but couldn’t convert. A big difference was Kelli Brewer. She did an awesome job at keeper,” Case said.

Brewer will have to be big again because Tupelo (18-2) has one of the best offensive teams the Missy Gators have seen all season.

“Very fast and very offensive oriented,” Case said.

Contact Jeff Byrd at jbyrd@vicksburgpost.com