2024 Boys Postseason #4 - Class 1/2 Finals Recap/Preview & Class 3/4 Preview
by Admin on 11/21/24
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.
