2024 Boys Postseason #3 - Class 1 and 2 Finals Preview

November 19 - Class 1 and Class 2 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 during the day Wednesday and Thursday. 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.**

Class 1
(11) New Heights Christian (13-12) vs. (1) Valley Park (23-3) (+.80) 10 AM

(5) St. Pius X (KC) (17-9-1) vs. (3) Missouri Military Academy (16-4) (+.01) 12:30 

Notes: One thing, intended or not, that the Success Factor in soccer has achieved is the fact that the Final Four squads in Class 1 especially over the past few years have turned over at a high rate. In the past five years, there have been five different champions and only three schools (New Covenant, Maryville and Bishop DuBourg) have multiple appearances over that time. This year isn’t any different as all four schools will be looking for their first titles.

#11 New Heights Christian changed its school name this year (formerly College Heights Christian) and, well, it has led them to new heights after a rocky 1-10 start. The Cougars reached their first Final Four since a three-year run of 4th place finishes from 2002-2004 after a 3-2 win over Sacred heart Saturday at Carl Junction. New Heights (partnering with McAuley Catholic) jumped out to a 3-0 lead and held off a furious Gremlins comeback to capture its seventh consecutive win. The Cougars’ improved defense has been the biggest change. After allowing 50 goals in its first 14 games, New Heights has conceded only six in the past 11 matches.

#1 Valley Park won the 1-2 showdown Saturday against Metro, making a first half goal stand up as the Hawks advanced to their first Final Four. It was the second victory over #2 Metro this year and marked another game in a stressful tournament for VP after a second half goal won the district title over #7 St. Mary’s South Side the week before. The Hawks have been ranked #1 all season the MPR and have a significant MPR advantage over New Heights. Valley Park can beat you in multiple ways - the defense is allowing only .8 goals/match, while the offense has scored at a 4.1 goal/match clip. 

#5 St. Pius (KC) enters its fifth Final Four and first since 2014 as arguably Class 1’s hottest team. The nine losses are deceiving as two were against C2 #2 and semifinalist St. Michael the Archangel and another against C3 semifinalist Van Horn. The Warriors have played a demanding schedule (one of the most difficult in C1) against several upper class teams and have been on a roll since the tourney started - capped with a convincing 4-1 triumph over #4 Lone Jack Saturday. Lone Jack scored in the opening minute and the game was tied at half, but Pius pulled away in the second half. The Warriors’s success comes after six consecutive losing seasons that followed a significant playoff run from 2008-2019 where they won 10 district titles in 11 years.

#3 Missouri Military Academy has waited 32 years for a return trip to the Final Four but that wait is now over after the Colonels eliminated Crocker 4-1 at School of the Osage Saturday. Take away a 10-day period in the middle of the season when MMA went 2-4 over a six-game stretch and the Colonels have been solid, including a current eight-game winning streak. MMA pulled away from Crocker Saturday behind an efficient offense and a sturdier defense than recent Colonel squads have had, allowing 1.3 goals/match, the best mark since 2015. That mark has been helped by a .75 Goals Against Average in the current win streak.

Class 2

(4) Logan-Rogersville (20-5-1) vs. (1) Clayton (18-4) (+1.08) 6 PM

(2) St. Michael the Archangel (19-4) (+.46) vs. (5) Orchard Farm (19-6) 8 PM

Notes: Class 2 will also see a first time champion in what should be an extremely competitive Final Four. Four of the top five squads in the final MO Power Rankings reached the finals (only #4 Logan-Rogersville’s 2-1 2OT win over #3 Bolivar the exception), making this the highest ranked Final Four in any class in recent memory. 

#4 Logan-Rogersville fell one goal short of a perfect season and state title last season in their first trip to a Final Four, bowing to Westminster Christian 1-0 in the C2 finals. The Wildcats haven’t been quite as dominant this season, but have managed to find a way through a brutal state tournament path that saw them slip past #11 Monett 2-1, #3 Bolivar 2-1 in 2OT (the teams’ third match of the season) and #6 Marshall 3-2 in 2OTs on the road. Marshall had jumped to a 2-0 lead before LR rallied, getting the game winner minutes into the 2nd OT. Five of their last nine games (all wins) have been decided by one goal and three came in extra time so another close game should be the norm for them. 

#1 Clayton has been the team to beat most of the season based on the MO Power Rankings and come in to their second Final Four (2010) with a decided advantage in schedule strength over all other C2 teams (3.4 average - only two other schools, Priory and St. Michael’s were at 3 or higher in C2). Clayton played four matches against Final Four squads this year (losing to C4 SLUH 1-0, but beating C3 Vianney 3-1, C3 Ladue 2-1 in penalties and C2 #5 Orchard Farm 5-1.) The Greyhounds haven’t lost since late September, although they did have to sweat out a 1-0 OT win over Priory in D2 finals. Saturday the Greyhounds had it a bit easier in a 3-1 win over Lutheran South.

#2 St. Michael the Archangel finally broke through in its eighth year and will play in its first Final Four after knocking out #9 Excelsior Springs 2-0 with two second half goals and lockdown defensive work in quarterfinal play. Excelsior Springs was seeking its fourth consecutive Final Four. The Guardians have been a little streaky this year and now seem to be back in the middle of a hot one. After opening the season with 14 straight wins, they lost four in a row before bouncing back to win the next five. St. Michael’s has 15 shutouts on the season and hasn’t given up a goal in the postseason yet, while allowing only .5 goals/game. During the four-game losing streak, the goals dried up as the Guardians could only find the net once. One note with the change to Lindenwood, this becomes almost a home game for Orchard Farm. St. Michael’s is just 4-3 in away games, but 8-0 on neutral fields.

#5 Orchard Farm is back for its fourth appearance in the past five seasons, but the Eagles have never quite been able to go the distance yet, finishing second in 2020 and 2022. Last year, Logan-Rogersville took out OF in penalties in the semifinals, adding another tough loss in the Final Four during this historic run for a program that just started in 2016. Like St. Michael’s, Orchard Farm had a four-game losing streak followed by a current five-game winning streak and seem to be playing some of its best soccer after eliminating Moberly on the road 5-1 in the quarters Saturday. The Eagles led 2-1 in the second half when a Moberly red card helped open the gates for a comfortable win. As mentioned, Lindenwood is right down the road from OF, so a nice crowd should give the Eagles a bit of a boost.