MO Soccer Blog

November 7, 2025 - What a Night! (Blog #4)

We even got shorted a game (more on that in a bit) from the original 35-game schedule, but Thursday did not disappoint. Nine teams punched their tickets for the playoffs (six in C2) and 25 others advanced. As expected, we had our share of shockers, close calls and drama that comes with local teams playing each other this time of the year. There is a certain intangible factor that pops into district play that gets emphasized when teams are meeting up for more than the first time in a season as many of the games last night featured rival teams very familiar with each other.

On tap for tonight and our segue into what happened to our 35th game last night…only four games (one in each class) and one of those was already partially played. #3 Ladue (+.45) and #7 Parkway West only got about 13 minutes into the scoreless match before having to stop due to the lights not working at Parkway South. They’ll resume with a drop ball tonight in the weirdest game “start” of the season.

The other three matches should be Friday Night Light dandies, soccer-style. In C1, D7 #4 Barstow (+.02) and #6 Lone Jack will sort that championship at Barstow, basically dead even based on the MPR. Barstow topped LJ 1-0 earlier in the year on that same field. C2 will get its 7th state qualifier tonight in a matchup of 20-win teams in D2. #3 Affton (+.53) is slightly favored over #8 Bayless, but the Broncos are riding high after eliminating last year’s champ Clayton in the semis. A couple of private school powers hook up in KC C3, D7. #9 Pembroke Hill (+.22) hosts #12 St. Michael in a rematch of an earlier game that saw PH get a 2-1 win on the road. The Guardians are coming off a 2nd place C2 finish last season.

A quick peak at Saturday’s four games - all finals - with three of them coming in C3. Note that all three “underdogs” in C3 are actually hosting those games, which could turn into an equalizer for those deficits.

C3, D2: #5 Rockwood Summit (+.62) at #13 Webster Groves
C3, D3: #1 Chaminade (+1.03) at #7 Priory
C3, D5: #10 Summit Christian (+.41) at #15 Capital City
C4, D4: #9 Ft. Zumwalt West (+.20) vs. #12 St. Dominic

Back to Thursday…

When it comes to C1 playoff soccer, “chaos” is often the term of the day. The one final in the class was as chaotic as it gets. #5 Sacred Heart (+1.72) and #27 Stover hooked up for the third time this year at Smithton with the favored Gremlins already owning two wins over the Bulldogs this year. Stover stunned Sacred Heart with two goals in the opening 20 minutes, but SH knotted it at 2 just six minutes later. The Gremlins went ahead midway through the second half and seemed poised to make its third consecutive playoff appearance, but Stover hit two almost identical 30+ yard bombs within 45 seconds of each other with 13 to play and held on for the huge upset, 4-3. The Bulldogs make just their second playoff appearance ever, with the first coming in 2023.

The rest of the C1 night went pretty much as planned, but 2 seeds Lutheran North and defending champ Valley Park both struggled in 1-0 semi wins over STEAM and Hancock, respectively. The top two squads in C1 #1 Veritas and #2 St. Mary’s each advanced to finals with three-goal wins.

Oh, and before we move on…the answer to yesterday’s trivia of course happened in C1. The largest upset recorded in the past five years and the only one ever to be over 2.00 in the MPR was actually a 3.45 difference when Northland Christian knocked out Frontier STEM 3-1 in 2024.

More “chaos in C1” proof:
In the past 5 years, C1’s MPR totals are the hardest to predict. Anything with two teams within .40 has been 50%, while .41-.99 is a 20% upset chance. By comparison, a C2 .40 differential has 41.7% chance of an upset, C3 has a 40% chance and C4 is at 30%. The .41-99 difference is even more pronounced as C2 is at 11.1% upset risk, C3 is 10% and C4 is 6.7%. 

For the non-math folks out there, what that all means is Class 1 can be quite unpredictable, and in many cases, quite fun (depending on what side of it you’re, on, of course!). Or, chaos…

Thursday was arguably the biggest night of the season in C2, as six championships were decided. The one we figured to be a coin-flip, basically was. D3 #18 Principia and #6 Orchard Farm had to settle things in OT before Principia advanced 2-1. They will host #11 Father Tolton, who rallied from a 1-0 halftime deficit against #17 Southern Boone, scoring twice in the first five minutes of the second half for a 2-1 win. In D1 action, #13 Perryville escaped a strong challenge from #31 St. Pius X (Festus), winning 3-2. C2’s top team Springfield Catholic continued on its magical season, eliminating #4 Logan-Rogersville 4-0. Out west, #16 Harrisonville ousted #14 Pleasant Hill 2-0 and #24 Maryville became the first 3-seed to win a district when it shocked #27 and 1 seed Excelsior Springs 2-1 in OT. The top seeds in D6 scuffled a bit last night, but both advanced. #5 Marshall held off #34 Osage 3-1, while #12 Helias need OT to get past #21 Clinton 2-1.

C3’s biggest upset of the night came when 5-seed and #32 Webb City topped 1-seed Willard 1-0, setting up a meeting with 2-seed Carl Junction, who held off host Parkview 1-0. The most drama of the night was in Jeff City where #10 Summit Christian took down a solid #20 Borgia squad 1-0. Host #15 Capital City made two early goals stand up in a 2-1 win over #24 Camdenton. D4 had a blowout (top seed Ft. Zumwalt East over Hannibal) and a nail-biter with #8 Ft. Zumwalt South edging #17 Lutheran St. Charles 3-2 in OT. D1 also had small scare with top seed #22 Notre Dame holding on to a 1-0 win over a game #30 West Plains squad. #38 Poplar Bluff jumped out on host #26 Cape Central early in a 4-0 win. The D2 final is set with local rivals Rockwood Summit and Webster Groves set to meet tonight. WG ended #23 Pacific’s school-record season, 5-0, Summit topped Mehlville 4-2. Finally, in D8 action, #3 Van Horn continued its strong season with a 3-1 win over East. #18 Lincoln Prep awaits Van Horn as LP upset #11 Northeast 4-2, handing the Vikings their only loss after 22 wins to open the year.

C4 play also had some stunners as some Final Four favorites went home early. #5 Rock Bridge saw #21 Blue Springs South score twice in the second half en route to a 2-1 stunner in D7, handing the Bruins only its second loss. Two STL giants also are out. #11 Francis Howell stunned #10 CBC 2-1 in OT, and will meet backyard rival #8 Francis Howell Central, 1-0 winners over #6 DeSmet. The defending champs SLUH are in another final after slipping by Kirkwood 1-0. The Jr. Bills await the Ladue/Parkway West winner. #24 Vianney hasn’t had a typical year, but they are back in the district finals after edging Jackson 1-0, setting up a final with #4 Oakville, who had little trouble taking down #30 Northwest 5-1. It won’t be much of a surprise to know that #1 Rockhurst also is in the playoffs again, but the 2-1 win over #31 Lee’s Summit North was much closer than many imagined.

Next week: 15 championships over two days…14 Monday and one Tuesday with the quarters set across the state for next Saturday. 

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November 5, 2025 - Districts o’Plenty (Blog #2)

Two days of early round district play on beautiful Fall nights in MO lead us into another perfect Wednesday night and our first championship match.  In C1, #3 Metro takes on #23 Brentwood in the first final of the week. Metro has already topped Brentwood this year 7-1 and sit as +1.62 MPR favorites. Everywhere else tonight will have 17 semifinals and 33 1-4 seeds filling those spots. The only exception is #5 seed Lutheran (KC) who has a big challenge against #4 Barstow on tap. #32 Lutheran is coming off the biggest upset win (-1.93) of the tournament after eliminating #11 Frontier 2-1 in 2OT earlier.

So far we’ve had 120 playoff games and only six would be considered real upsets, although several top seeds did have some close calls in early round games. We’ve also had 14 games decided with extra time or penalties.

In C4, #5 Rock Bridge outscored #39 Grain Valley 5-4 to advance and #3 Ladue gutted out a 1-0 win over #25 Parkway South. Defending champ SLUH came in as huge favorites over #47 Eureka but had to hold to a 1-0 win. Tonight’s spotlight games are in Republic at the D5 semis. #14 Glendale is favored over the host school in one semi, while rivals #28 Nixa and #19 Ozark are separated by just .18 in the MPR. D4 has the Backyard Bash with #9 Ft. Zumwalt West (+1.26) and #38 Timberland in one semi and  #12 St. Dominic (+.24) battling #16 Liberty in the other. The D8 semis also kick off tonight - the spotlight there on Liberty teams. #15 and Liberty and #17 Liberty North are basically dead even. Liberty has just one loss on the year - to top seed #29 Park Hill South - which basically cost the Blue Jays the 1 seed.

C3 has also had a few scary moments for top seeded and #1 Chaminade. The Red Devils had all they could handle with a solid #6 Parkway Central squad before winning 1-0 in what could be the most competitive district in that class. #2 Westminster and #7 Priory face off in the other semi there tonight at Priory for the right to play Chaminade. Tonight also has the top four seeds in D7 in action at Pembroke Hill. The #9 hosts are favored over Belton, while #12 St. Michael has a +1.14 advantage over#47 Raytown in the other semi.

C2 defending champ and D2 2-seed Clayton is #2 overall in the class, but faces a challenging few days if it wants a shot at repeating. Clayton plays 19-win #8 Bayless in the semis, while top-seed Affton is #3 in the MPR. #10 Lutheran South hopes to pull the upset there on its home turf. Should be a great night there. A couple of minor upsets pushed 3 seeds into finals. #31 St. Pius X (Festus) pounded 2-seed Sullivan 7-0 in D1, while #17 Southern Boone avenged an earlier loss to #15 Kirksville. SBC will play #11 and top seed Father Tolton Thursday.

C1 also has D6 action tonight with 1-seed Laquey (#16) and 4-seed Fair Grove (#13) are actually flipped in MPR so the 4-seed is slightly favored, while #9 Dixon (+.43) and #17 Greenwood play in the other semi.

Coming tomorrow…a 5-year look at how the MPR has worked when predicting matchups. For all you numbers folks out there, this will be a fun look into how our model has improved with predictions and how rank matchups going forward. As always, soccer “math” doesn’t always work out because the game has that significant factor (like hockey) where 1) it’s difficult to score and 2) GK’s can make a huge difference in results (see: USA Hockey 1980 Miracle on Ice).

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November 3, 2025 - Welcome to Postseason Soccer! (Blog #1)

A big week ahead as postseason play continues tonight after a 41-game slate (well, technically 40 as we had our first postseason forfeit with Cardinal Ritter bowing out to Crossroads) Saturday. Tonight and tomorrow will be the heaviest schedule of games - 40 each - before we start getting to our first finals Wednesday. MSHSAA has lengthened the district window over the past few years so we will be seeing finals early next week, as well. Six days ahead with championships played on them means meaningful soccer for the state over the next eight days - always fun!

As mentioned, the playoffs kicked off Saturday and we already had our first significant upset when Class 2 #39 Duchesne (seeded 6th) surprised #20 and 3 seed St. Charles 2-1. St. Charles had a .86 advantage in the Mo Power Rankings (MPR), putting it outside the “upset window” of .40. Otherwise, it was pretty much status quo as all other games followed MPR predictions. There were a couple of games where the seeds didn’t play out - both 5 seeds over 4’s (Oak Grove over Odessa and Grain Valley over Fort Osage). 

Before we get into Saturday’s winners and a quick preview of the classes, we will put this here…an explanation (for the new followers) and a review (for the seasoned fan) regarding our MPR results that we use to rank the teams.

How to approach reading the MSPR as a coach or fan:
Based on multiple years of MSPR data from both the boys' and girls' sides, we can draw some conclusions. It's important to note that the team with the higher ranking or point total doesn't always secure a victory. After all, this is a game played by teenagers, and each match is unique with varying matchups against opponents (i.e. injuries, home field advantage, rivalry match, travel, too many games in a short span of time, etc). However, a point differential of 0.4 appears to be the threshold where 'upsets' occur more frequently. Roughly eighty percent of all upsets, as per the PR, happen when teams are within 0.4 points of each other. This could be considered a minor upset. The remaining twenty percent is usually not far from that 0.4 threshold. There are still occasional instances when a 'major' upset happens, and the point spread is considerably different. In any case, it's crucial for every team to approach their opponents with respect, but keep an eye out for those teams within 0.4 points. It should make for a good competitive game. 
Side note: This data is sourced from the postseason, when teams have played a substantial number of games and the highest amount of data is accessible for use.

And now back to the games…or more specifically a quick look into what could be the most interesting districts in each class. 

Class 4
#1 Rockhurst (D6), #4 Oakville (D1) and #5 Rock Bridge (D7) all have a decided edge in their districts as the only top 20 squads in each. The other five districts could get real interesting - especially D2 where two of last year’s state champs (#2 SLUH in C4 and #3 Ladue in C3) are joined by #7 Parkway West and #13 Kirkwood. Ladue is one of the rare public schools to move up with the Championship Factor in place and not because of that, but because of a growing enrollment and also likely because a few schools in C4 opted out of playing the postseason, thus bumping the Rams up. District 3 also looks to be challenging, with #10 CBC (the 1 seed), #6 DeSmet (seeded 2) and host #8 Francis Howell Central (3rd) all in the mix. Two huge CBC wins over DeSmet in the regular season emphasize how important those head to head games are. The D4 backyard battles will continue again this season as neighbors #9 Ft. Zumwalt West, #12 St. Dominic and #16 Liberty all vie for that playoff berth. The SW area looks to be a two-team battle between #14 Glendale and #19 Ozark, but Ozark will have to get by rival Nixa (#28), a team they lost to just over a week ago. In the NW part (D8), #29 Park Hill South is the 1 seed, but #15 Liberty and #17 Liberty North are actually ranked higher. 

Class 3
 Parity is the word in D1 where #22 Cape Notre Dame is the 1 seed - the lowest 1 seed in any class. D2 has #5 Rockwood Summit and rival #13 Webster Groves on a likely crash course, while D3 has already sorted through its cast of soccer heavyweights and now pared down to #1 Chaminade (a winner over 8-time champ Whitfield Saturday), #6 Parkway Central (ousted perennial power John Burroughs 3-1 Saturday), #2 Westminster and #7 Priory. All 4 of those schools (and coaches) have won previous titles, so expect high quality play there. D4 will likely see the Zumwalt schools (#4 East and #8 South) squaring off when it counts. Only three top 10 squads are in District 5-8 and each (#3 Van Horn, #9 Pembroke Hill and #10 Summit Christian) will be fighting to get through tricky districts with each having teams in the top 20 eager to advance. Summit Christian will also have to travel to Jeff City three times, which could play a factor. D6 also could be very competitive with #19 Willard as the 1 seed and three other schools within a few MPR points from them.

Class 2
This class, from the beginning, looks to be quite top heavy. #1 Springfield Catholic has been the dominant squad all year and leads the state with 24 wins and only one setback, but D5 is as solid as they come with #4 Logan-Rogersville, #7 Bolivar and #9 Monett already in the semis. LR has been to the last two final fours and Monett has a history of being a thorn in the Irish side. The winner of that will likely get the winner of #5 Marshall and #12 Helias in the quarters, so no easy path for any of those teams. D7 and D8 is anyone’s guess…#14 Pleasant Hill heads the D7 group, But #19 Center and #16 Harrisonville are right there. In D8 #27 and 1 seed Excelsior Springs looks for a return to the Final Four after having its 3-year run ended last season. #23 Smithville, down from C3 this year, and #24 Maryville are the biggest challengers. The top district is D2, where #3 and 1 seed Affton heads a group with #2 Clayton (last year’s C2 champ and 2 seed in the district), #8 Bayless and #10 Lutheran South. #13 Perryville is the favorite in D1, while #18 Principia is the 1 seed over #6 Orchard Farm even though the two didn’t play this season. #11 Father Tolton heads the D4 grouping, but #11 Kirksville, #17 Southern Boone and host #22 Moberly have all played each other close this year.

Class 1
42 teams are vying for the C1 crown this year and two have been at the top of the rankings all year. #1 Veritas Christian (D3) and #2 St. Mary’s (D1) have owned the top spot all year, with St. Mary’s taking the first three rankings and Veritas the last three. St. Mary’s will have to get by last year’s C1 champ #12 Valley Park, while Veritas’ biggest obstacle looks to be #15 Lutheran North. D7 in KC should also be a fun watch. #4 Barstow heads that group, but #6 Lone Jack, #10 Cristo Rey and #11 Frontier will look to prove otherwise. D6 1 seed Laquey is #16 in the MPR and 2 seed Dixon is #9 after Lquey topped Dixon earlier in the year. D5 #5 Sacred Heart is the heavy favorite there, while MSHSAA playoff newcomer #7 Christian Fellowship seeks a playoff spot in its first year at host #26 Fatima. D2 1 seed #3 Metro has been lurking all year and would likely get a rematch with St. Mary’s if they can advance past #14 Maplewood and #23 Brentwood.

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November 23 - The Finals

Location: Lindenwood University, Hunter Stadium, 209 S. Kingshighway St. Charles, MO

Digital Tickets (only tickets available): https://www.mshsaa.org/Tickets.aspx

TV: https://www.mshsaa.tv/

NOTE: Due to the quick turnaround we weren’t able to update the MPR advantages for Saturday’s final.

Congratulations to first-time champions Clayton (C2) and Valley Park (C1) on dominant seasons that both ended up with quality performances in their respective championship games Thursday. 

#1 Valley Park (25-3) wasted little time, jumping out to a quick 3-0 lead over #3 Missouri Military Academy within the game’s opening 15 minutes. The Hawks’ Will Geary continued his spectacular career and season with three goals and an assist as Valley Park led 4-0 at half. MMA tightened things up the second half but couldn’t make a charge, finishing the Colonels season at 17-5. 

In Class 2, the battle of 1-2 held the hype for a half, with both #1 Clayton and #2 St. Michael the Archangel knotted up in a scoreless tie, but the Greyhounds broke the deadlock just five minutes into the second half and then ended the suspense with two goals only a few minutes apart midway through the half to win 3-0. Clayton finishes 20-4, while St. Michael’s best season ends with a runner-up trophy and a 20-5 mark.

Friday’s matches didn’t disappoint, either.

The C3 second game was worth every bit the price of admission as #7 Van Horn took #1 Ladue all the way into penalties before Ladue advanced 1-0 (5-3) in their fifth penalty shootout of the year and ninth OT game. This one was about as even as you could get, with both teams taking charge for stretches before the other countered. It was Van Horn’s fourth penalty shootout of the year - the Falcons won the first two and lost the last two. Ladue is now 2-3 in shootouts and advances to its third final in the past four years - finishing second in the previous two. Ladue is hoping to win its first title.

The Rams will play #2 Vianney in the finals. The Griffins got two goals from Shane Farrow, including a determined effort through a maze of St. Francis Borgia attackers to break the tie in the 27th minute. Vianney turned on the heat the second half, outshooting the #16 Knights 13-2 in the half, while adding Farrow’s second goal just seven minutes in. The Griffins (16-6-4) seek their seventh title and first since 1992. Vianney owns a 4-1 victory over Ladue Oct. 10. Borgia’s (17-8) miraculous run through the C3 playoffs as a small school ends without a title to match their 2022 C1 team.

Van Horn (20-5) vs. St. Francis Borgia (17-8) 10 AM

#1 Ladue (22-6) vs. #2 Vianney (16-6-4)

In Class 4 there will be a new king. Three-time champ and #8 nationally Rockhurst’s quest for an unprecedented four-peat ended with #3 DeSmet’s convincing 3-1 win Friday. Spartan Jack Saladin’s clinical finish in the 17th minute sent DeSmet on its way and Braden Klein’s second assist in the 35th minute to KJ Tyehimba provided some breathing room. Landon Weber’s penalty kick in the 54th all but sealed the deal. Rockhurst (20-2) got one back late, but it wasn’t enough to send the Hawklets into their 16th final. The loss also ends Rockhurst’s playoff winning streak at 22 matches. DeSmet (21-3-1) reaches its 11th final and looks for its 7th championship and first since 2019.

The Spartans take on fellow MCC member #8 SLUH (17-6-3) in the finals Saturday. The Jr. Billikens used a late first half goal and a stout defense to hold off #15 Liberty North 1-0 in Friday’s nightcap. SLUH seeks its fourth title and first since 2003 in its 10th championship. DeSmet has already handled SLUH twice this season, winning 2-0 Sept. 21 and 4-0 Oct. 22, with the inevitable (by calendar) third matchup Nov. 23 being the most important. Liberty North (17-9) will play Rockhurst for third place Saturday to conclude its first final four appearance.

Liberty North (17-9) vs. Rockhurst (20-2) 12:30 PM

#3 DeSmet (21-3-1) vs. #8 SLUH (17-6-3) 6 PM

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November 21 - Class 1/2 Finals and Class 3/4 Final Four Preview

Location: Lindenwood University, Hunter Stadium, 209 S. Kingshighway St. Charles, MO

Digital Tickets (only tickets available): https://www.mshsaa.org/Tickets.aspx

TV: https://www.mshsaa.tv/

**The staggered start times are due to Lindenwold’s football team still needing the facility for practice. Wednesday and Thursday gates open at 9:30. You only need one ticket per day - make sure you get stamped if you plan on attending both sessions and only digital tickets are available for purchase.**

Championship Thursday - a first for Missouri - happens tonight when Class 1 and Class 2 will crown two first-time champions. All four teams have been ranked #1 or #2 at some point this season so each final features worthy squads who have been consistent all year.

In Class 2, #1 Clayton wasted little time, scoring 12 seconds into the match, en route to a 4-0 semi win over #4 Logan-Rogersville. The Greyhounds, who had four different players score,  added another goal 13 minutes later and two more in the second half to cruise into their first championship match where they will play #2 St. Michael the Archangel. St. Michael slipped past #5 Orchard Farm 2-1, getting the game-winner on a header with just over four minutes to play. Orchard Farm had taken a 1-0 first half lead and it stood up until the 65th minute when the Guardians neutralized. St. Michael outshot Orchard Farm 20-2 in the match, including an 11-0 shot advantage in the second half. This will also be St. Michael’s first championship game appearance.

In the third place game, Orchard Farm edged Logan-Rogersville 2-1, scoring the game-winner with three minutes to play.

#1 Clayton (19-4) (+.72) vs. #2 St. Michael the Archangel (20-4) 8 PM Thursday

The Class 1 finals will also feature two schools playing in their first championship. #1 Valley Park forward Will Geary scored a finals record-tying five goals as the Hawks outlasted a game #11 New Heights Christian Academy squad 6-3. Geary got tallied three times in a wild second half that saw six goals scored between the two teams. New Heights’ Michael Parrigon did all he could do, scoring all three of the Cougars goals, including a spectacular blast from midfield off the kickoff to make the score 2-1. Valley Park outshot New Heights 19-7 and had a 9-0 advantage in corner kicks. Valley Park advances to take on #3 Missouri Military Academy in tonight’s final. The Colonels broke a 0-0 halftime score with two breakaway goals to go up 2-0, but #5 St. Pius X (KC) answered with one minutes later, setting up a frantic final ten minutes. MMA held on, despite getting outshot 9-8.

In the third place game, St. Pius X (KC) rolled to a 6-0 win over New Heights Christian.

#1 Valley Park (24-3) (+.15) vs. #3 Missouri Military Academy (17-4). 6 PM Thursday.

Class 3 Preview

#2 Vianney (15-6-4) (+.99) vs. #16 St. Francis Borgia (17-7) 10 AM

#1 Ladue Horton Watkins (21-6) (+.68) vs. #7 Van Horn (20-4) 12:30 PM

Notes: Class 3 has another potential 1 vs 2 matchup ahead in the finals if Ladue and Vianney can hold serve, but two teams who got hot at the right time stand in their way. This is Vianney’s first year in C3 and will be joined by three schools with plenty of recent Final Four experience. Borgia won the 2022 C1 title, Ladue has finished second twice in the last three years and Van Horn has a third and a fourth place over the past six years.

#2 Vianney survived a district semifinal shootout with Rockwood Summit before dispatching a solid Parkway West squad 3-1 in the district finals. The Griffins cruised in the quarters Saturday, overwhelming Farmington 3-0. Head coach Brian Haddock is trying to pull off the rare girls-boys championship in one year after having led Nerinx Hall to the C4 title this Spring. Vianney will rely on its demanding schedule after navigating the MCC regular season 3-0-1 and the Griffins already own a decisive 4-1 win over Ladue Oct. 10. 

#16 St. Francis Borgia isn’t really supposed to be at this point as the D5 #3 seed, but upsets over #2 Helias and #1 Cap City punched their playoff ticket and the Knights racked up another upset when it took out #4 Springfield Catholic 3-1 in Springfield. Borgia jumped out to a 2-0 lead against a stiff wind before Catholic got one back on a penalty kick before half. The Irish pressured Borgia for most of the second half, with Knight defenders twice clearing balls off the goal line before netting an insurance goal with just over ten minutes to play. Borgia will be the smallest school enrollment-wise (345) in the big school finals after its 2022 championship run pushed the Success points into C3. By contrast, Ladue is at 1022, Vianney 838 and Van Horn 816.

#1 Ladue’s run to the finals was a bit more conventional than last year’s squad that finished second despite a handful of forfeits early in the season, but by no means has the Rams’ season been easy. Eight matches this season went into extra time, including four in penalties. with the district finals against last year’s C2 champ, Westminster Christian being decided in the second OT. Six of Ladue’s first 11 matches went extra and they even played a stretch of three straight games decided by penalty kicks, which ultimately helped forge them for a difficult quarter matchup in Hannibal Saturday. Ladue scored once in each half and held off a solid Hannibal attack to advance.

#7 Van Horn is no stranger to postseason success, as this is the Falcons sixth appearance in seven years. Van Horn didn’t have an easy go of it in the postseason this year, either. The Falcons avenged regular season losses to Lincoln College Prep (18-2) in district semis (a 3-2 win) and last year’s C3 champs, East KC 3-1 in the district finals. Van Horn scored twice in the last eight minutes after trailing early to win D8 and then held off a solid #6 Pembroke Hill squad 3-1 at home Saturday. 


Class 4 Preview

#3 DeSmet (20-3-1) vs. #1 Rockhurst (20-1) (+.07) 3:30 PM Friday

#8 SLUH (16-6-3) (+.35) vs. #15 Liberty North (17-8) 6 PM Friday 

Notes: C4 is a who’s who of MO soccer powers with a new face sprinkled in. Rockhurst (28 times), DeSmet (17) and SLUH (16) are certainly no stranger to the Final Four, but Friday will mark Liberty North’s initial appearance. 

#3 DeSmet is no stranger to the Final Four but it has been five years since the Spartans made their last championship appearance, winning it all in 2019. After back-to-back MCC losses to Chaminade and Vianney in mid-October, the Spartans have won seven straight, including a 3-2 2OT nail-biter over last year’s 3rd place squad Lindbergh at home Saturday. The game-winner came on a “never give up” play on the endline and came with just four minutes left before penalties. Lindbergh had rallied to tie the game with just under six minutes left in regulation. 

#1 Rockhurst (#8 nationally) is shooting for something that’s never been done - four straight titles. The Hawklets have dominated the big school scene and this year hasn’t been any different. The only loss came to Blue Valley Southwest (KS) in penalties in early September and the Hawklets haven’t lost to a MO school since falling to Chaminade in October ’22. Rockhurst hasn’t conceded yet in the postseason, but it did have to struggle to get past a game Glendale squad 1-0 Saturday in the quarters at Rockhurst. Rockhurst and DeSmet have met four times previously, three in the playoffs. The last playoff match was in 2001. The teams have split the previous four.

#8 SLUH has lived dangerously in the past two playoff games, but found a way to advance each time. In the D3 tournament, the Jr. Bills trailed John Burroughs 2-0 before forcing penalties, where they earned a 3-2 win. Against #4 Liberty (Wentzville) Saturday, SLUH fell behind again but eventually got the game-winner in the second half to advance to its first Final Four since 2013. This year marked the end of an eight-year playoff drought for SLUH, who last won a championship in 2003. Things didn’t look promising for SLUH after a late season three-game slide against Vianney, DeSmet and CBC. Of note, DeSmet has already topped SLUH twice this year, 2-0 and 4-0.

#15 Liberty North is the new face in this year’s Final Four, but the Eagles have been consistently solid over the past three seasons and finally broke the quarterfinal in its fourth try. The playoffs haven’t been easy, either, first knocking out rival Liberty 5-0 and then last year’s C4 runner-up, Park Hill South in penalties. The Eagles quarterfinal win over Rock Bridge had all the drama, as well, with Liberty scoring the game-tying goal in the last minute of regulation before banging a shot off the far post in the first OT that bounced in for the golden goal over the Bruins. SLUH (1-0) and Liberty North (3-1) each have wins over Glendale this year and this will be the schools first-ever matchup.

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