The field was muddy and nasty, and the soccer wasn’t a whole lot prettier. The result, however, was oh so nice for the St. Aloysius Flashes.

Ryan Theriot scored three goals, including two in the first 12 minutes of the second half, to lead St. Al to a 3-0 victory over Central Hinds on Thursday.

It was St. Al’s third straight win over the Cougars, and second in a week, since snapping Central Hinds’ 71-game winning streak in last year’s MAIS Class AAA playoffs.

“It shows how close we are as a team and how much we trust each other, and that we can get the job done even if we’re not as focused as we should be,” Theriot said. “We feel pretty good. We still have more to prove, winning more district games and clinching homefield advantage throughout the playoffs, and just keep rolling.”

St. Al (11-1, 5-0 District 3-AAA) routed Central Hinds 7-0 in their first meeting of the season last week in Raymond. The rematch was more competitive, but still never felt in doubt.

Theriot opened the scoring with a goal in the 10th minute, and the Flashes spent the rest of the half peppering the net with shots. They had nearly a dozen scoring opportunities, some of which were thwarted by the keeper and others by the muddy field that made footing treacherous.

“Our touch was just a little off. We haven’t had a full practice in about a week and a half because we’ve had so many games,” Theriot said. “Our touch got sloppy and the field wasn’t the best conditions. It’s not a good excuse, but that’s all part of it. You have off nights and you’re on sometimes. That’s just how it works.”

The score remained 1-0 until halftime, and then the Flashes quickly blew it open at the start of the second half. Theriot zipped a free kick into the net from 25 yards out in the 44th minute, then finished a scrum in front of the net in the 52nd to make it 3-0.

Central Hinds’ best chance to score came in the 48th minute, when Ryan Penson stole the ball from St. Al keeper Haden Luke about 30 yards from the goal. Penson struggled to get a clean dribble or shot on the muddy field and wound up squibbing a weak grounder that went well wide to the left of the empty goal.

Other than a couple of brief flurries, Central Hinds never had a good scoring chance after that.

“I did tell them if they scored, they were going to run,” St. Al assistant coach Thad Wade said with a laugh.

Although they swept the season series from Central Hinds, the Flashes still have a lot of work to do before they can clinch a playoff berth. Road games at Park Place and River Oaks, both whom played the Flashes tough the first time around, still await before the playoffs begin on Feb. 18.

St. Al goes to Park Place on Monday at 4 p.m.