11-3-23 Boys Postseason Blog #5
by Admin on 11/03/23
November 3, Boys Postseason #5
A beautiful fall night for the beautiful game!
Thirteen teams punched their tickets to next Saturday’s quarterfinals with district championship wins Thursday night.
As always this time of the year, if crazy events happen, they happen in the postseason.
Starting in STL, where C3 D3 play between postseason regulars Whitfield (the #2 seed and owner of eight state titles, including the 2021 C2 title) and #5 seed Ladue (9 district titles in 11 years) squared off. The Rams pulled off a first in recent MSHSSA history, winning tonight as a 5 seed, but not in normal fashion. Ladue held a comfortable 2-0 lead at half, but saw two players get sent off in the second half for red cards and had to hold on to a dramatic 2-1 win.
In C1 D5 District final action in Stover, the host #1 Bulldogs jumped out to a 2-0 halftime lead and led 3-1 midway through the second half before #3 Green Ridge mounted a rally and tied the score off a free kick with 33 seconds left in regulation. Stover (16-11) stayed composed and got the game-winner with just under seven minutes left in the first OT to advance to its first ever state playoff.
There was little drama to the C1 D7 title game, where #2 College Heights Christian rocked #1 Lone Jack 5-1. College Heights, #13 in the MPR, advances to take on #3 Maryville in next Saturday’s quarters.
C1 D2 #1 Metro won its district by knocking out #3 Gateway Science 2-1 in OT. Metro advances for the first time since 2019.
C1 D3 #1 Duchesne had no problem with #3 STEAM Academy, ending the game early 8-0.
C2 #1 Overall Westminster Christian earned a difficult 1-0 win over #5 Clayton in the D2 finals, erasing some of the sting of losing last year’s title game to Orchard Farm in OT. Westminster returns to the state playoffs for the first time since 2014.
C2 D4 #3 Fulton kept its strong end of the season rolling with a 2-0 win over upstart School of the Osage. The Hornets only led 1-0 until the 79th minute but got a late goal to advance for the first time since 2020. The win extends their season-long winning streak to six.
C2 D6 #4 Sacred Heart outlasted #3 St. Paul Lutheran 1-0 in OT to make it back to the playoffs for the first time since 2017. Sacred Heart may have been one of the most affected by the new Championship Factor over the years, but will move on in C2 after years of success in C1.
The C3 D1 championship lived up to its billing as #1 Farmington overcame a 1-0 halftime deficit and won 2-1 in OT over #3 Cape Notre Dame. The Black Knights will move on to play overall #1 Rockwood Summit, who eliminated last year’s C1 champ Borgia 3-1. Summit held a precarious 1-0 lead until two late goals made it 3-0; however, Summit’s GK will miss the quarterfinal match after a red card on Borgia’s late goal, which could make things even more interesting in Farmington.
C3 D 7 #4 seed Van Horn kept up its postseason roll by upsetting #2 Raytown 2-0. Van Horn was the higher ranked squad (#11) in the MPR over Raytown (#14).
Only two C4 finals were held Thursday, with D7 #1 Rock Bridge cruising to a 3-0 win over #2 Blue Springs South and D8 Park Hill South winning the Battle of Riverside over #2 Park Hill 1-0.
In District Semifinals last night…
C1 D1 #1 Bishop DuBourg (20-3) routed #4 Hancock 9-0, while #2 Valley Park (21-4-1) topped #3 St. Mary’s South Side 4-0, setting up a meeting between two 20-game winners in Saturday’s title game.
C1 D4 top seeds Father Tolton (#1) and #2 MMA each advanced with comfortable wins. Tolton beat #4 Calvary Lutheran 8-0 and MMA eliminated host Fatima 3-1. The finals for that one are set for Monday.
C2 D3 #1 Orchard Farm had no problem with #5 Winfield, 7-0. #2 St. Charles ended rival #3 St. Charles West’s season, 3-0.
C2 D5 #1, undefeated Logan-Rogersville (23-0), beat up on #5 Cassville 8-0 and will have #2 Bolivar, 1-0 winners over New Covenant, in the finals. The winner of this district will be the final team included in the state playoffs, as this one doesn’t kick off until Tuesday night in Rogersville.
C2 D7 #1 Harrisonville ousted #5 St. Pius (KC) 3-0 and will play #3 Barstow, who won a wild 5-4 game over #2 Summit Christian Academy in OT. SCA was ranked #3 in the final MPR, while Barstow sits at #12. Harrisonville is #7.
C3 D6 #1 Webb City moved on after topping #4 Willard 2-0, while #3 Central surprised host #2 Branson, 3-2.
C4 D3 heavyweights #1 SLUH and #2 John Burroughs will play in Saturday’s final. SLUH bested #4 Howell Central 4-0 and Burroughs eliminated a solid #3 Howell North squad 1-0.
The C4 D4 final will have local rivals #1 Liberty (Wentzville) and #2 St. Dominic battling it out Monday in Lake St. Louis. Liberty rolled #4 Howell 4-1, while Dominic held off a gritty #6 Ft. Zumwalt squad 1-0.
In Ozark, top seeded Ozark held on to eliminate #4 Kickapoo 2-1, while #3 Nixa ended C4 newcomer #2 Glendale’s season 1-0. Glendale had been to four of the past five C3 Final Fours but got bumped up this season to C4 for the first time.
Friday and Saturday each have four finals on tap, including two huge C4 games in STL Saturday.
On Friday:
C1 D6 #2 Laquey (10-11) (+.27) vs. #5 Dixon (13-7)
C2 D1 #1 Bayless (20-6) (+.04) vs. #1 Affton (21-4)
C3 D4 #1 Ft. Zumwalt East (17-4) (+.73) vs. #3 Ft. Zumwalt South (12-14)
C4 D1 #1 Vianney (19-5-1) (+.26) vs. #2 Lindbergh (20-5)
Saturday’s slate:
C1 D1 #1 Bishop DuBourg (20-3) (+.55) vs. #2 Valley Park (21-4-1)
C2 D7 #1 Harrisonville (16-5-1) (+.21) vs. #3 Barstow (11-8)
C4 D2 #1 De Smet (16-3-1) (+.33) vs. #3 CBC (16-6-2)
C4 D3 #1 SLUH (19-3-1) (+.58) vs. #2 John Burroughs (16-5)
