Five metro area girls’ soccer teams claimed state championships this past Saturday with two of those winning titles for the first time and the other three schools repeating as champions. Things didn’t go as planned with the local teams in Ozark, Mo., as for the second year in a row, the area did not come home with titles.
Let’s get caught up on this past weekend’s games in this week’s edition of the Monday Morning Wrap-Up.
Let’s start in Illinois as the Triad girls’ soccer team claimed their second consecutive IHSA Class 2 title with a 1-0 victory over Lisle Benet Academy Saturday afternoon at North Central College in Naperville, Ill. After a scoreless first half, the Bulldogs grabbed the lead in the 58th minute as Gina Catanzaro broke free and found the back of the net to put Triad on top 1-0. That is all that they would need as the Bulldog defense held Lisle to only one shot on goal in the win. Reagan Chigas earned the win in goal with one save for Triad as they finish the year with a 25-1 record.
At the Worldwide Soccer Park in Fenton, the St. Louis girls’ soccer dominance continued for the second straight year as the local teams swept all the state championships.
In Class 1, Whitfield exploded for three goals in the second half to earn a 3-0 victory over St. Pius X out of Festus to claim the school’s first girls’ soccer title as they joined their boys’ team in winning championships on the pitch this school year. After a scoreless first 40 minutes, Mia Devrouax scored her first of three goals in the second half in the 57th minute off a breakaway to put the Warriors ahead 1-0. Devrouax then scored off a free kick from 20 yards out six minutes later to push the Whitfield lead to 2-0. Devrouax completed the hat trick in the 76th minute as she scored off passes from Taylor Gardner and Ava Duel to seal the victory. Gardner earned the shutout win in goal with two saves.
MICDS needed overtime to earn the school’s first girls’ soccer title as the Rams defeated Orchard Farm 2-1 in the Class 2 title game. MICDS opened the scoring in the 32nd minute as Madolyn Mackin took a pass from Helen Harris on a breakaway and scored from 15 yards out to put the Rams on top 1-0. The Eagles drew even in the match as Ashlyn Ohlms slotted a shot past the goalkeeper from seven yards out to tie the match at 1-1. In the first overtime, Campbell Schultz propelled the Rams to the title in the 94th minute as she scored on a header off a free kick from Parker Scheele to seal the victory.
Fort Zumwalt South raced out to a 3-0 lead in the first half and held on to defeat Springfield Glendale 5-3 to earn their second consecutive Class 3 title as they also joined their boys’ team in winning soccer championships this school year. Audrey Smith scored the first of her three tallies in the 15th minute on a breakaway as she found the net from 15 yards out to give the Bulldogs a 1-0 lead. Ashley Miller added to the lead in the 28th minute as she took a pass from Brooke Cattoor and scored from 10 yards out to put Fort Zumwalt South ahead 2-0. Cattoor finished the first-half scoring with a goal from 16 yards out in the 34th minute to stake the Bulldogs to a 3-0 advantage. Smith added her second goal of the afternoon in the 43rd minute as she converted a header into the lower left side of the net to put the Bulldogs out front 4-0. After Glendale scored in the 47th minute, Smith completed the hat trick with a redirected shot from in front of the goal to push the South lead to 5-1. Glendale scored a pair of late goals in the final 10 minutes of play, but that would not be enough as the Bulldogs took home the trophy and finished the year with a 25-1 record.
St. Dominic vs. Nerinx Hall – Photo Credit – Sophie Scheller
In the final match of the year, it was an instant classic between two of the top schools in the area as St. Dominic needed penalty kicks to claim their third straight Class 4 title with a 1-0 victory over Nerinx Hall. The Crusaders and Markers played 110 minutes of scoreless soccer before St. Dominic won the title with a 3-1 advantage in the penalty kick round. Both goalkeepers had outstanding games as Kathryn Fitzler made six saves for the Crusaders while Caroline Ritter from Nerinx Hall made 11 stops for the Markers. In the penalty kick phase of the match, Julia Shouts started with a goal for St. Dominic while Nina Preusser scored for the Markers to put the score at 1-1 after the first round. After both shooters missed in the second round, Grace Bindbeutel and Macie Begley each scored while Fitzler made a pair of saves to propel St. Dominic to the title as the Crusaders finished the year with a 22-3 record.
In the MSHSAA Baseball Championships at US Ballpark in Ozark, Mo., Festus was the only local team to play for a state title while Howell claimed third place in their class this past weekend.
In the Class 5 semifinals, the Tigers earned a 4-3 win over Willard in eight innings to advance to the title game while Fort Zumwalt East fell to Platte County 5-3 in the other semifinal. In the championship game, Festus fell behind Platte County 1-0 after four innings and then saw Platte County score five runs over the final two innings to take a 6-0 lead. The Tigers scored a run in the home half of the seventh, but that would not be enough as Festus would finish the year with a 27-9 mark. In the third-place contest, the Lions fell behind Willard 4-1 after three innings and then cut the lead to 4-3 after the top of the fifth. Willard pulled away with three more runs in the seventh to take a 7-3 win over the Lions as Fort Zumwalt East wrapped up the year with a 23-11 record.
In the Class 6 semifinals, Lindbergh fell to Blue Springs South 2-0 while Howell dropped a 4-3 contest to Liberty North in 10 innings to set up an all-local third-place game. In that contest, Howell took control of the game early as the Vikings scored three runs in the top of the first and added to the lead in the third with five runs to take an 8-0 advantage. Howell scored three more runs in the fifth and held on to defeat the Flyers 11-0 in five innings to claim the third-place trophy.
On the diamond in Illinois, Edwardsville and Triad both won their sectional finals to advance to the super-sectional round today. The Tigers defeated Minooka 10-0 Saturday and will play Plainfield North Monday at 4:30 p.m. in the Class 4 super-sectional at Illinois Wesleyan while Triad advanced to the Class 3 super-sectional round with a 6-0 win over Mascoutah. The Knights will take on Chatham Glenwood Monday at 6 p.m. at Millikin University in Decatur for a chance to advance to the state semifinals.
In Class 2, Columbia earned the third-place trophy with a 4-1 victory over Maroa Saturday afternoon. In the state semifinal, the Eagles fell to Joliet Catholic Academy 4-1. Columbia finished their season with a 27-8-1 record.
Jim Powers has been covering prep sports in the St. Louis area for 15+ years and a part of the Missouri State High School Activities Association Championship Broadcasts for the past 11 years. Powers is also a part of the Fox 2 Verlo Mattress Prep Zone Friday nights at 10:10 during the football and basketball seasons. If you have a prep sports story, please contact Jim at japowers2421@yahoo.com. Follow Jim at @hssportscaravan
