Slidell junior Robbie Shepherd scored two goals as the Tigers blanked Salmen’s Spartans 5-0 in Tuesday’s season opener at L.V. McGinty Sr. Stadium.

“Robbie played well tonight,” Slidell coach James Gipson said. “Robbie plays in the midfield for us. He distributes the ball very well and he shoots pretty well when need be. He had some looks tonight and he got a couple shots in.”

Slidell goalkeepers James Dingman and George May combined on the shutout.

Slidell's Brennan Broussard looks to get past Salmen's Ahmad Karaja (4) during Tuesday's season-opening match at SHS. (Staff Photo by Chris Kinkaid)

The Tigers got out to a 1-0 lead in the fifth minute when Trevon Poole scored into the lower-left corner on a pass from Nate Johnson.

Slidell missed on several shots, but in the 27th minute, the Tigers connected. Johnson collected his second assist when he made a pass to Shepherd and fired a shot from midfield past the Spartans’ goalkeeper to make it 2-0.

Eight-minutes later, Jacob Penton hit Philip Escobedo Kornecka. Standing right in front of the goalkeeper, he tallied, upping the Tigers’ lead to 3-0.

Slidell attempted a corner kick in the 38th minute, but Shepherd’s shot was wide left.

In the second half, Salmen had an opportunity to score in the 44th minute when Ahmad Karaja made a run. His shot hit SHS’ goalkeeper, rebounded back to him, but his second shot was off the side of the goal, keeping the shutout intact.

But 10 minutes into the second half, Shepherd dribbled through defenders and fired a shot that hit the back right corner of the goal, which gave his team a commanding 4-0 advantage.

“That one felt amazing,” Shepherd said. “I’ve never had that feeling before, just going through people and making the shot.”

Despite the score, Salmen continued to play. In the 57th minute, Karaja got into the open field, but a Slidell defender caught up and knocked the ball out of bounds.

The Tigers added their final goal as Chris Barnes nailed a shot from the right and that ended up in the left part of the goal to make it 5-0 in the 61st minute.

Gipson, who named Jesse Stephenson his top defender, said he was happy with his team’s overall performance.

“Defensively, no goals, but we’ve still got a lot to work on for sure,” Gipson said. “We’ve still got a lot of gaps between the midfields and the back line. We have a long way to go, but I’m impressed. I’m proud of the guys. They played well.”

On the other bench, Salmen Tim Rogers said his focus is on improving for the district season.

“I don’t a whole lot into these early games,” Rogers said. “We’re going to learn a lot. That’s what it’s all about. I’m worried about getting into district and being prepared. Playing good teams makes you better.”