MO Soccer Blog

2026 Boys Blog #4

Hope everyone has dried out and warmed up after a wet, cool Fall MO night on the soccer fields. We had several matches get pushed back due to the multiple lines of rain that seemed to cover most of the state, so hopefully everyone gets back on track tonight. Originally scheduled for 51 games, we got 44 of them in. We will crown our first state qualifier/district champion of the year this evening, while almost everyone else is in semi final play.

Tuesday’s action
Two district top seeds fell last night, one in C1 and one in C2, with both being significant upsets based on MPR. The biggest upset of the whole tournament so far took place in C1 D6 in Springfield when #28 College Heights Christian eliminated #14 Greenwood 2-0. Greenwood was a +1.23 favorite in that one and had handled CHC 3-0 earlier in the year. College Heights sets its sights on 2-seed #7 Fair Grove in the finals Monday. Fair Grove held on to defeat New Covenant 1-0 in the other semi.

The second top seed to fall came in C2 D4 when #31 Duchesne shocked #14 Orchard Farm (+.93) 2-1. Neither team entered district play on a roll, but Coach Pat Turner has the Pioneers playing well in the postseason. Duchesne lost to Winfield 6-2 in the season finale, but rolled to a 6-1 opening round win when it counted before eliminating Orchard Farm. OF, winners of only three of their final nine games, had topped Duchesne 2-0 earlier in the season. The other semifinal saw Veritas squeak out another 1-0 win, this time over Lutheran St. Charles. The #6 Eagles, last year’s C1 champs, have won 12 in a row.

We thought there may be some parity in the opening round of C4 D4 in Wentzville and three 2-1 scores to open that tournament backed it up. #27 Timberland was the only lower seed to advance when it stunned #26 Hickman with a late goal, but #30 Troy needed OT to top #29 Liberty and #19 Ft. Zumwalt West had all it could handle in its win over #31 North Point. #16 Rock Bridge cruised to a 6-1 win over #48 Battle in the other game.

The backyard Blue Springs game lived up to expectations in C4D7, with 2 seed #14 Blue Springs getting an OT goal to eliminate #9 3-seed Blue Springs South 1-0, setting up a highly-anticipated final with #3 Rockhurst Thursday. The Hawklets steamrolled Fort Osage 9-1.

The C2 D5 semis in Mexico featured a differing tale of two top scorers - one who played and one who didn’t. Top seed and #16 Southern Boone played without top scorer Miles Butler, but a goal one minute in set the tone for the evening as the Eagles took out #27 MMA 4-0. The second game stayed scoreless until the final eight minutes when C2 newcomer (and only 2nd year in MSHSAA postseason) #36 Christian Fellowship (co-op with Hallsville) took a 1-0 lead that seemed to be safe as they had controlled most of the evening’s play, but #24 Moberly’s top scorer Gabe Runde answered with just over two minutes to play, sending it to OT. Runde broke loose again three minutes into OT for the game-winner, sending the Spartans into Thursday’s final against SBC.

What had to be the most fun game of the evening occurred in C4D4 at Northwest. The host #32 Lions and #43 Mehlville traded blows all evening before Northwest got a golden goal in the first OT to win 5-4. Mehlville entered with just five wins, while Northwest improves to 18-8. Top seeds Oakville, Jackson and Lindbergh also advanced.

A couple of upsets in C3 D5 in Jefferson City as both 5-seed #44 Lebanon and 6-seed #47 Jefferson City pulled off wins. Lebanon handled #26 Pleasant Hill 3-1, while JC got a PK in OT to send #34 Harrisonville home, 2-1. Top seeds #23 Camdenton and #24 Capital City rolled to 8-0 and 4-1 wins, respectively.

Wednesday Preview
As mentioned, our one championship game of the night highlights the evening ahead with 19 other games set to kick off, 11 involving district #1 seeds. A quick look of the top seeds in action - several rescheduled from last evening - shows C1 #1 Pembroke Hill and #2 Father Tolton should have no problem in their opening playoff matches, but C2 #1 John Burroughs (+1.63) has a tough one with #8 Principia, as does #2 Priory (+.59) against #5 MICDS. C4 #1 CBC (+1.59) and #20 De Smet will be closer than the numbers say, based on the history there. #5 Francis Howell Central (+1.34) and #25 Francis Howell provide the other rival game in that district.

In C2 D6 at Bolivar, #3 Helias and #26 Bolivar compete for a district championship and state qualifier bid and long rest period for the winner. Helias shook off the rust against Cassville in the semi before cruising to a 5-1 win, while the Liberators ride in on the wave of a dramatic 1-0 OT win over Monett Monday, Bolivar’s 10th extra time game this year. Helias (20-2) has rolled along all year and is the heavy MPR favorite (+.1.61), but this is where high school soccer playoffs can get interesting. Helias will have a second 2-hour trip to Bolivar this week and Bolivar will have a home field advantage with a smaller grass field and hometown supporters. Expect a great environment here - exactly what finals should be.

In C2 D1, #4 Cape Notre Dame (+.2.44) should cruise against #41 Fredericktown, but the other semi between #11 Perryville (+.36) and #18 Bayless has the makings of a tight game. Both teams rolled in first round play, but goals will be much tougher to score this time around.

While Pembroke Hill (+2.83) should have a quiet evening against #24 Lutheran KC, the other semi between #5 Barstow (+.32) and #12 Frontier School of Excellence expects to be much closer. Barstow’s strength of schedule advantage may be the key factor here as the Knights traditionally play one of the better C1 schedules in the state.

C4D5 semis in Springfield tonight pit four schools who know each other well and no real dominant team. #28 Glendale (+1.05) is the 1 seed and handled #52 Branson 2-0 earlier, while local rivals #15 Nixa (+1.16) and #45 Ozark play in the other. Nixa (21-3) has been rolling the latter part of the season (15-1), but lost to Glendale 3-2 a few weeks back. Coach Jeff Rogers always has Glendale primed at postseason. 

Look for a couple of 3 seeds to have advantages over 2-seeds tonight. C1 #13 Stover (+1.25) in C1 over #25 Smithton is one, while C2 #12 St. Mary’s (+1.44) over #38 Sullivan is the other.

Thursday will be chocked full of district finals (8) and semifinals (26) before we head to a quieter weekend of three championships Friday and eight Saturday (along with two semis (C3D3). We hope to have recaps and previews Thursday and over the weekend before we finish up district play next Tuesday. The Quarterfinals are set for 11-14 and the Final Four 11-20/21.

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2026 Boys Blog #3

Before we get into a busy Monday/Day 2 of the Boys District Week games, here’s a quick reminder of how our MO Power Rankings (MPR) work. We usually place the team with the MPR advantage with a + in parentheses. EX: Team A (+.45) vs. Team B. Our rankings adjust after each game so if a team continues to win (and so do some of their opponents), that team’s score will marginally increase. Of course, there are many factors that go into a head-to-head matchup, but the MPR will give a general idea of how two teams line up based on their performance over the year.

Suggested PR Confidence Scale
Based on five years of postseason results:
Teams within:
0.00-.0.10 - Coin Flip. Virtually even.
0.11-.0.20 - A slight edge. Still very close.
0.21-0.40 - Danger Zone. The .40 mark is the key number here as anything above that score means the upset rates generally drop significantly.
0.41-0.60 - Moderate Favorites.
0.61-0.90 - Strong Favorites.
0.91-1.25 - Heavy Favorites
1.26 and up - Elite Favorites.
We don’t often get many upsets over the 1.25 mark, but when we do, it generally sends seismic shocks through the tournament and provides some great memories/moments - at least for the teams who pull it off.

Monday Action
We focused on the Monett-Bolivar match in our Monday preview yesterday as one that might turn into the Game of the Night and we were not disappointed. The C2 D6 semifinal in Bolivar lived up to the expectations and more. 2-seed (#13) Monett had a +.55 advantage over the host 3-seed (#26) Liberators despite Bolivar topping the Cubs in penalties in early September. This one was played at a high pace and finals-worthy intensity, but neither team could generate many good chances so the game moved to OT. Bolivar slipped a perfect ball behind the Monett defense for a golden goal nearly five minutes into the extra period, electrifying a large home crowd. That this one went to extra time shouldn’t surprise anyone - the two teams have combined for 16 OT and PK games this season with Bolivar winning its 6th in ten tries. A shame someone had to lose this one. Bolivar advances to take on #3 Helias Wednesday in the final. The Crusaders (+2.34) methodically put away a game Cassville squad, 5-1 in the opening game.

The other big upset of the evening wasn’t even all that close. Host #29 Smithville was a +.48 favorite over #42 Kearney, but Kearney rolled to a 4-1 win, avenging an earlier 3-1 loss to the Warriors. Kearney advances to take on #10 Northeast KC, 8-0 winners over Winnetonka.

A couple of teams who had experienced recent Final Four success also saw their seasons end Monday.  2024 C1 champ #17 Valley Park fell to #15 Brentwood 1-0 in OT and last year’s C3 finalist #27 Ft. Zumwalt East is out after dropping a 1-0 result to #28 Warrenton. The Warriors reward is a game with #2 St. Dominic, who cruised to an 8-0 win over #63 McCluer North. The other semi in C3 D4 features #4 Ft. Zumwalt South and #11 St. Charles, which should be a good one. The two didn’t play this year.

In C4 D3, both #1 CBC and #20 De Smet advanced, setting up yet another big game in that storied rivalry. CBC will be the favorite there, but the regular season match was just a 2-1 CBC win and there is enough history to know both teams will be up for each other. The other side of that bracket has another big rivalry as well with #5 Francis Howell Central  and #25 Francis Howell each advancing Monday. Central won the regular season contest 4-1 but rivalry games always have a way of being quirky in the playoffs. Those semis are set for Wednesday.

Tuesday Preview
Tuesday is our biggest night of District play - 45 games on the slate with each class getting several matches as long as the weather cooperates. C1 - 9 games, C2 - 8 games, C3 -12 games and C4 - 16 games and four matches already postponed due to weather.

With so many games hopefully happening, we can only spotlight a few…here are our five to watch tonight:

C4, D7 #9 Blue Springs South (+.28) vs. #14 Blue Springs at Blue Springs. Backyard battles are always fun and throw in win-or-go-home to it and you have the makings of an intense night. Top it off with one our closest margin of games and this should be fun. Blue Springs has already knocked off BSS once this year, 2-1. The winner likely gets a shot at #3 Rockhurst.

C2, D4 Semifinal where #6 Veritas Christian (+.44) and #15 Lutheran St. Charles clash at St. Charles West. Veritas is the defending C1 champ but struggled in its opener against #43 Wright City. LSC is looking to avenge an earlier 2-1 loss to Veritas.

C4, D4 at host Timberland where three Columbia schools travel to the western STL edge. #16 Rock Bridge (+1.32) is the 1 seed and likely won’t have trouble with #48 Battle , but the real fun should be 3-seed #26 Hickman (+.02) vs. #27 and 6-seed Timberland. The 4/5 game with #29 Liberty (Wentzville) (+.14) and #30 Troy is also too close to call. Even the 2/7 match with #19 Ft. Zumwalt West (+.56) and #31 North Point has intrigue, especially since North Point has racked up 17 wins on the season.

In C1, D5 in Sedalia, #22 Lone Jack (+.34), last year’s C1 runner-up, has a tough matchup with #26 Sacred Heart, a team that started 0-7-1 but has gone 7-5 since. 

Finally, overall C2 #1 John Burroughs (+1.63)  takes on #8 Principia in a D3 semifinal, which looks like a simple night for the Bombers before the big potential match with #2 Priory in the finals. However, a closer look shows that Burroughs escaped with a 2-1 PK win earlier and the Panthers have postseason experience after losing in the C2 finals last year. Goals may be hard to come by here and neither team can look too far ahead in a very competitive district. 

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2026 Boys Blog #2

And we’re off…41 games Saturday with mostly expected results. The Power Rankings (37-4) were slightly better than the district seeds (35-6) over the course of the day with only one considerable upset on the ledger. While most of the day was status quo, a deeper look shows that one defending champ escaped an early upset bid and the state’s toughest district didn’t disappoint.

In Class 2, the top five teams all look primed for a championship run (although not all have kicked off district play yet), but the real (almost) surprise was last year’s Class 1 champ and #6 Veritas Christian Academy squeaking by #43 Wright City 1-0 in opening round play. The day’s biggest upset by MPR also took place in C2, D5 when #36 Christian Fellowship (-.78), a C2 newcomer, eliminated #25 Boonville 1-0 in OT. That district in Mexico also posted another mild upset seed-wise when #5 MMA ousted #4 Fulton, although MMA was the MPR favorite (+.33). #2 seed #24 Moberly also advanced over host Mexico, but struggled to put away the #52 Bulldogs in a 2-0 win.

Class 2’s toughest district, D3, set up a fascinating Tuesday at host John Burroughs. The top seeded and C2 #1 Bombers had a bye, but #2 Priory, #5 MICDS and #8 Principia all rolled on by a combined 29-0. Expect a Final Four level of play for both semifinals and district finals next week there.

The second biggest surprise of the day in C2 took place in D6 where #37 Cassville earned the right to take on top seed Helias Monday with a 3-2 OT win over #29 Clinton. 

Class 3’s tightest district may be where the state’s #1 squad resides in D3. #1 Chaminade, #15 Parkway Central, #3 Parkway West and #5 Clayton cruised in opening round play by a combined 23-0 score, but the semis won’t be as comfortable. 

Two OT results in D1 at DeSoto may have been the most entertaining district on the day. Top seed Farmington cruised but #4 seed DeSoto and #3 seed West Plains had to grind out OT wins to keep playing. 

Finally in C4, the D2 District of Death already eliminated four top 25 teams. #7 Kirkwood ousted #8 Ladue 2-0, #12 Lafayette slipped past #11 Vianney 3-2 while #2 and defending champ SLUH had no problem with #24 Parkway South (6-0). #6 Marquette ended #18 Eureka’s hopes, 5-0.

#6 seed (#36) Smith-Cotton joined the three Lee’s Summit squads in the D6 semifinals by upsetting 3 seed (#41) Ray-Pec 1-0, although the MPR had the two teams within in the “slight edge” zone (.20). LS North (#38) also posted a mild seed upset with a 1-0 2OT nail biter over #4 Carthage (#40).

The rest of C4 stayed true to the MPR rankings, but don’t expect that to be the norm throughout the week ahead. 

A look ahead to Monday…

We still have 153 district matches to play after Saturday and 31 will take place Monday. Tuesday will be the biggest district day of the week number wise (50 games) while the first championship match is slated for Wednesday in Bolivar in C2D6.

Speaking of Bolivar, Monday’s best match of the day may be the semifinal between host #26 Bolivar and #13 Monett. Monett has a +.55 MPR advantage but these matchups with an underdog hosting is a prime example of a team leveling the field. 

Six of the C1 districts will see action - all of the games are 4-5 and 3-6 matchups, while C2 has a relatively quiet night except in Districts 1, 2 and 6. Class 3’s D2, D4 and D8 also kick off, while in C4 the only district in action highlights overall #1 CBC in its quest for a state title as a heavy favorite over Ritenour. #5 Francis Howell Central looks to extend its quality season as well in a district that also includes the always dangerous #20 De Smet and local rivals #25 Francis Howell and #33 Francis Howell North.

Final fun fact for the day…we took a look over the past six years to see which schools have been ranked #1 the most in our regular season MPRs (final MPRs not included).

Top 5 Teams Overall (All Classes Combined)

Rockhurst 18
Westminster Christian 10
Rockwood Summit 8
Springfield Catholic 7
Chaminade, Southern Boone, Valley Park, Webster Groves 6

Leaders by Class
Class 1
Southern Boone & Valley Park – 6 weeks each
Bishop DuBourg & Laquey – 5 weeks each
Lutheran St. Charles – 4 weeks

Class 2
Westminster Christian Academy – 10 weeks
Springfield Catholic – 7 weeks
Clayton – 4 weeks
Marshall & Whitfield – 3 weeks each

Class 3
Rockwood Summit – 8 weeks
Webster Groves & Chaminade – 6 weeks each
Ft. Zumwalt South, Mehlville, & Ladue Horton Watkins – 4 weeks each

Class 4
Rockhurst – 18 weeks (Most in Missouri overall)
St. Louis University (SLUH) & St. Dominic – 5 weeks each
Rock Bridge, Lee's Summit – 3 weeks each

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It’s time!

The 59th Boys Soccer State Playoffs kick off today with 41 matches across the state as we begin our journey to the State Finals Nov. 20-21 at Worldwide Technology Soccer Park in Fenton. Five #1 seeds begin play Saturday in the district tournament that will span from October. 31-Nov. 10 before Quarterfinal action for all four classes on Nov. 14. We will be recapping and previewing on most of those days in the weeks ahead with special thanks to our partner The Coaches Tool Chest. Hopefully some great weather and great soccer ahead!

In the following weeks we will highlight some of the better matchups and interesting stories from around the state and will use our updated Power Rankings to point out which team may have an edge based on the full season body of work. We have found over the past six years that any two teams within a .40 point difference is in the “too close to call zone” and this is generally where the most “upsets” happen. A school with a (+) in the parentheses means it has an advantage based on our full season model and the higher the +, the more confident we are in the result happening. For example, C3 #2 St. Dominic is +5.05 over #63 McCluer North in the opening round, the highest margin of any of the opening round games. However, there are a multitude of factors that go into playoff soccer success - injuries, travel, local rivalries, teams getting hot (or not) at the right time, weather, etc. - which makes these next three weeks so fun and unpredictable. 

For the newcomers to this scene, MSHSAA divides the schools into four classes based on school enrollment and a slightly complicated system of a “success factor” where private schools who have had success (recent State Championships, Final Fours and District Championships) all earn you points and bump you up a class. A quick and recent example is last year’s Class 2 champion Springfield Catholic now bumped up to Class 3, where they are currently ranked #9. Moving a private school with Success Points up a class then means that another school must drop a class and so begins the shuffling until we end up with Classes 3 and 4 of 64 teams, Class 2 with 56 and Class 1 with 42. From there MSHSAA places the schools in geographically based districts to limit travel and also to stay in line with its philosophy of having a Final Four represented from different areas of the state. Thus, “the path” to a Final Four is highly important to a potential championship run.

There is nowhere better to illustrate the importance of the path than in Class 4, District 2 with what is arguably the strongest district in the state. All 8 teams are in the top 25 of C4 so surviving those three games will be a tough challenge for any of them. #2 SLUH , #6 Marquette, #8 Ladue and #12 Lafayette hold the top four seeds, but #7 Kirkwood (matched up against host Ladue), #11 Vianney (against Lafayette), #18 Eureka (against Marquette) and #24 Parkway South all have the ability to compete and escape there. Ladue-Kirkwood and Lafayette-Vianney are virtually dead even. Fun fact: #8 Parkway South is a (-1.65) against SLUH, but would likely be no worse than a 4 seed in any of the other C4 districts and as high as #2 in some.

Besides SLUH, five other district #1 seeds start play today - all in the big schools. In C3 #1 Chaminade hosts Gateway, #14 Farmington takes on Festus and in C4 undefeated and perennial contender #3 Rockhurst has Ruskin, #22 Lee’s Summit takes on Webb City and #28 Glendale hooks up with Waynesville. 

For those curious as to what it means to be #1 at the end of the regular season…in the six years we have done the MPR, Classes 1, 2 and 3 all are over 66% accuracy (Class 2 has been 5 out of 6 accurate - Borgia in 2022 being the exception). Class 4 is only 33% accurate, mostly because of the gauntlet that is the bigger school path. The C4 D2 scenario is one prime example of how difficult it is to grab a title in the biggest class. Expanding the data a bit, 80% of the teams who finished in the top 4 of their class in the regular season won titles.

We will get into the historical data a bit more as the week goes on, but a quick view of the top 4 by MPR in each class and their paths will likely be a hot topic going forward.

Class 4:
1 CBC - #5 Howell Central in districts
2. SLUH (defending champ) - #4 Oakville in the Quarters and that wickedly difficult district
3. Rockhurst (last year’s runner up) - biggest test against #9 Blue Springs South in the district finals
4. Oakville - #13 Lindbergh in the district and then SLUH
**At best, 3 of these schools reach the Final Four, while the other quarterfinal’s top teams would be #15 Nixa, #28 Glendale, #21 Lee’s Summit West and #22 Lee’s Summit. As mentioned, C4 is usually the most wide open.

Class 3:
1. Chaminade - Parkway West in district, St. Dominic/FZS in quarter…brutal path for all four
2. St. Dominic - FZS in district, then Chaminade/Parkway West/#5 Clayton winner
3. Parkway West - see above
4. Ft. Zumwalt South - see above
**Only one top 4 team will survive, leaving a big opening for the rest of the state outside of STL. Last year’s C3 champs, #7 Van Horn looks to repeat but a showdown with Northeast KC in the quarters looms. 2025 3rd Place #8 Rockwood Summit also looks to return but has a local rivalry game with #6 Webster Groves in the district. Farmington and Sikeston in D1 are the main contenders there. 2025 C2 Champ Springfield Catholic looks to pull off an impressive challenge - win back to back titles in different classes. The bottom quarter is statistically the weakest by top teams, but even from top to bottom, so a team like Camdenton , Cap City or Logan-Rogersville could be in play.

Class 2:
1. John Burroughs - Priory in districts
2. Priory - Burroughs in districts
3. Helias Catholic - long drive to Bolivar (the first round bye means only 2 trips and not 3) and the always difficult Monett or the host school likely waiting
4. Notre Dame (Cape Girardeau) - local rival Perryville in districts and #10 Lutheran South likely in quarters
**The top 6 teams in C2 are all stacked with history and recent season dominance. The obvious highlight will be Burroughs/Priory in a district final, so only 3 of the top 4 can advance at best. #7 Kirksville is having its best season in history and is primed for a clash with district 2 seed and recent qualifier Excelsior Springs. #3 Helias has been rolling all year, while Notre Dame has a quality group returning and a stellar season to boot. The Final Four will likely be a dandy in this class.

Class 1:
1. Pembroke Hill - rival #5 Barstow in the districts is the biggest hurdle here
2. Father Tolton - on paper the easiest path to a Final Four
3. Metro - paired with Maplewood-RH in quarter
4. Maplewood-Richmond Heights - paired with Metro in quarter
**This has been a two-team race all year and while Father Tolton has the better record, Pembroke Hill has been #1 due to its schedule strength and a history of playing in the higher classes. The two would meet in the finals if each can manage the next few weeks, making for one of the more highly anticipated games of the season, especially in C1. Don’t count out last year’s 3rd place Metro or #6 Saxony Lutheran in the top of the bracket. #10 Whitfield has the history and pedigree to make a run, but will likely face Metro in the districts.

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November 22, 2025 Semi Recap and Finals Day

Class 4: No surprise that #1 Rockhurst and #2 SLUH will meet for today’s big school title - they’ve been the top two in C4 all year and get to settle it on the pitch today. The schools responsible for the past four titles will keep it in the family after outlasting upstarts in yesterday’s semis. SLUH, the 2024 champ, used a banger of a goal 30 minutes into the opening half and a stout defense to hold off #9 Ft. Zumwalt West 1-0. Rockhurst, ’21, ’22 and ’23 champs, got on board early but #29 Park Hill South settled in and gave the undefeated Hawklets all they could handle before Rockhurst scored three times in the last seven minutes in a 4-0 win that was much closer than the final score. Rockhurst shoots for its MO record-tying 11th title (Aquinas-Mercy in all of its iterations had 11) in its 16th final and would break a tie with CBC as each have 10. SLUH is in its 11th championship and seeks its fifth crown. Oddly enough, the schools have not met since 2011, with Rockhurst owning a 4-2 record all time and five of the games being one-score results.

Championship: #1 Rockhurst (+.06) vs. #2 SLUH 7 pm Field 1
3rd Place: #9 Ft. Zumwalt West (+.89) vs. #29 Park Hill South 5 pm Field 2

Class 3: We are going to get a first-time champion in C3. The top two MPR teams left, #3 Van Horn and #4 Ft. Zumwalt Eas,t both punched tickets into the finals with 2-goal semi wins. After a scoreless first 63 minutes, most of which VH had the better of the play, #10 Summit Christian Academy stunned Van Horn with a goal off a mis-cleared cross to go up 1-0. The lead didn’t last long as VH evened the match within a minute and then a SCA free kick bounced off the back of a VH player deep in SCA territory right to a Falcon who calmly slotted it in from 25 out and a 2-1 lead. An insurance goal moments later made it 3-1 and sent VH into its first final in its 4th semi. FZE avenged an earlier season loss to #5 Rockwood Summit after scoring two first half goals and withstanding a frantic Falcons second half that saw them outshoot FZE 12-3. The two teams have never met before.

Championship: #3 Van Horn (+.14) vs. #4 Ft. Zumwalt East 1:30 pm Field 1
3rd Place: #5 Rockwood Summit (+.42) vs. #10 Summit Christian Academy

Class 2: Two semis, two very different matches. #1 Springfield Catholic left no doubt in the C2 nightcap, scoring early and often over #16 Harrisonville. The Irish didn’t let up, finally ending the match in a rare mercy-goal semi win in the final minute, 8-0. The opening semi was far more compelling. #13 Perryville scored an opening half goal and held off #18 Principia until the 44th minute before the Panthers leveled. Principia, despite being a slight underdog, carried most of the play and finally got the game-winner with just under two minutes to play on a back-side header. Both schools will play for title #3 today. Catholic won C1 titles in 2011-2012 and are playing in championship #6, while Principia owns 2015 and 2019 titles as well as a runner-up in 2018. This will be the second meeting, but first since a Panthers 1-0 win in 2010. The Irish are overwhelming favorites but Principia’s demanding schedule shows that the Panthers can play with anyone. Both teams own wins over Father Tolton - Catholic 8-0 and Principia 5-4.

Championship: #1 Springfield Catholic (+1.59) vs. # 18 Principia 4 pm Field 1
3rd Place: #13 Perryville (+.09) vs. #16 Harrisonville 2:30 pm Field 2

Class 1: C1, as usual, provided all kinds of drama in the semis and will also give us another first-time champ. #2 Veritas Christian and #3 Metro locked up in a classic that saw both teams take control for stretches. Veritas got on the board first in the 62nd minute and seemed destined to get by in regulation, but Metro found a goal with 90 seconds left to pull even. The first OT provided plenty of chances for both and big moments for each GK. Veritas eventually prevailed after a ball was flicked to the back post to an oncoming runner for a volley that sent VCA into its first final. Metro had a slight advantage in shots and corners, but this one was worthy of a final. The second semi also seemed destined for OT, but a Lone Jack shot with 35 seconds left skipped past the Laquey defense and into the net, sending the Mules to their first ever final. The two squad have never met before.

Championship: #2 Veritas Christian (+..45) vs. #6 Lone Jack 11 am Field 1
3rd Place: #3 Metro (+.88) vs. #16 Laquey 10 am Field 2

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