As the last remnants of snow melted around Pan American Stadium, the Dominican and Mount Carmel soccer teams found themselves in a tightly contested match for the District 8-I title on a sunny Saturday afternoon.

And it was the Cubs who came away with the win and the district crown, as Stella Junius scored a goal off an assist from Josie Randol in the 69th minute for the 2-1 victory.

The junior sneaked the ball right inside the left post past Dominican goalkeeper Mary-Katherine Werling. Mount Carmel (17-4-3, 6-0-0) held off any potential Dominican scoring chances to preserve the win.

It was both teams' first action in a week after 10 inches of snow blanketed the New Orleans region and shut down activities and services throughout the metro area.

"This game is never about who is the better team," Mount Carmel coach Alexi Petrou said. "It's all about how you handle the emotions and who makes the least amount of mistakes and who wants it a bit more. That's what this game is all about. It's a rivalry."

After a first half where Dominican (13-12-2, 5-1-0) controlled the pace and outshot the Cubs 5-3, Stella Zippert gave Dominican a 1-0 lead in the 52nd minute when she snaked the ball around the defender near the top of the penalty box and past the goalkeeper. The sophomore had six of Dominican's seven shots at the goal in the match.

Mount Carmel answered right back with the equalizer on a set piece in the 58th minute where Hana Hammond received a corner kick and tapped the ball near the left post into the back of the net to tie the score at 1-1. That set up Junius' heroics later in the second half.

"We were so nervous," said Junius, the team's leading goal scorer. "This game is so nerve-wracking for both teams. Around the second half, we really chilled out and started passing it more. The game really started coming to us more."

Dominican was not without its chances to score. Zippert nearly missed two potential goals in the third and sixth minutes, and Corinne Lannan shot the ball right at Mount Carmel keeper Emily Dufrechou in the 38th minute, when she calmly made the save.

"We have to be a bit more fortunate and maybe hit the ball a little harder," Dominican coach Al Silvas said. "We put ourselves in those situations, and we were unfortunate that we were not able to capitalize on those moments."

Both teams have one more game remaining on Monday to complete the regular season. The LHSAA will release the playoff brackets on Tuesday. Dominican is the No. 16 team, and Mount Carmel is the seventh-ranked squad in the latest Division I power rankings.