'22 Boys Postseason #4 (11-2)
by Admin on 11/02/22
Vol 2. Edition 4 (11-2–22)
A relatively quiet Wednesday night on tap with only 10 matches, but we will crown our first playoff qualifiers as a trio of Class 2 districts finish up play. D4 will have 2 seed Southern Boone (+.23) and 4 seed Helias battling it out (remember, anything under .30 separation means to expect a close one) while D5 has arguably the highest profile teams in Logan-Rogersville (3) +.21 and Osage (5). D8 in Excelsior Springs (+.72) has the host school taking on upstart St. Pius (KC). The C4 D6 tourney resumes in Nixa with semis between Kickapoo-Waynesville and Nixa-Ozark. Kickapoo and Ozark are the favorites in those, but host Nixa could make things interesting. C4 D3 finishes up semifinal play between heavyweights Chaminade (2) and John Burroughs (20) - Chaminade has a +.86 MPR and should be favored, but the same was said last year and JB advanced, while the other four games are all in C1. D6 semis between top ranked Laquey and Dixon (27) and College Heights Christian (4) vs. New Covenant (7) with College Heights a slight favorite (+.21).
On to the Tuesday night recap…
Very few teams that ever win a state title don’t experience “that moment” when things look to be slipping away or the match isn’t going your way. Champions find a way and last night there were plenty of “moments” that teams may look back on as the one where they escaped to survive another day. Along with the talent, skill, coaching and everything else, top teams generally have to take the best shots from the underdogs who have nothing to lose.
Thus was almost the case in C4 D7 last night where final four favorites Rock Bridge escaped a gutty effort by 5 seed Blue Springs South in a 2-1 penalties (4-1) win in Blue Springs. The Bruins inability to score in the flow of play lately nearly caught them before marksmanship from the mark pushed them through. In the other semi, 3 seed Blue Springs used its home field advantage to knock off 2 seed Hickman 2-0, setting up another RB-BS final tomorrow. The winner of that district will get the winner between D8 top seed Liberty North who held serve in a 2-0 win over Staley and 3 seed Park Hill South, who slipped past rival Park Hill 2-1. South had the lower seed, but the higher MPR. In the other KC area district, Rockhurst rolled to a 4-1 win over Ray-Pec and will face 2 seed Lee’s Summit, 2-1 winners over Lee’s Summit West. The D1 tourney didn’t disappoint last night as both games were decided by a goal. Top seed Lindbergh survived 4 seed Oakville in OT, while Vianney eliminated Jackson. Not at all surprised by Jackson in a 1-0 game, but this time the magic ran out and the Griffins play on. The other STL districts remained competitive as expected. C2 #1 overall DeSmet pulled away from a 1-1 tie to eventually oust Eureka 4-1, while 2 seed CBC fended off a pesky Kirkwood squad, 3-2, setting up a battle of soccer royalties Thursday in the D2 final. The teams split games this season already. Only one semi played last night in D3 as SLUH eliminated Howell North 2-0. The Jr. Bills await the Chaminade-Burroughs winner Saturday. The biggest upset of the night in C4 came in D4 where 5 seed Ft. Zumwalt North kept its stellar season rolling with a convincing 3-1 win over top seed Liberty (Wentzville), which sets up a final against St. Dominic, 4-2 winners over upset-minded (and lowest remaining seed) Timberland.
Class 3 saw the biggest upset of the night and the second biggest of the entire tournament out in KC D8, where host Pembroke Hill got a 2-1 OT win over 2 seed Platte Co. Pem Hill was .80 underdogs entering that one, but will move on to play East (KC), 7-1 winners over Kearney. East looks to a formidable team going forward if it can continue to play at this level. Something to watch out there. In D7 also had a big shock seed wise when #4 Van Horn, playing with 10-men, held on for a 1-0 win over 1 seed St. Michael’s. The two teams weren’t separated by much MPR (.29), so this one had the potential all along. Van Horn gets 2 seed Jefferson City, who held on to a 1-0 win over 6 seed Raytown South. No surprise that evenly matched district has had its share of upsets and close matches. In D6, top seed Webb City rolled on with a 2-0 win over Grandview and will match up next with Belton. The 3 seed eliminated 2 seed Willard by a comfortable 5-2 margin. As expected, Glendale and Springfield Catholic will meet up in the D5 finals. Camdenton kept it close with the Falcons before bowing 2-0, while Catholic pulled away for a 4-1 victory over 3 seed Rolla. No big shockers in the other four districts, either. Ft. Zumwalt East and two-time defending state champ Ft. Zumwalt South will renew their rivalry in the D4 finals Thursday after East held off Holt 3-2 and South outlasted Hannibal 1-0. Top seed Whitfield eliminated MICDS and 2 seed Ladue stopped Clayton 2-0 to move to that final, which should be a good one between two very experienced playoff squads. The match everyone is waiting for, Webster Groves and Rockwood Summit, is also on as both advanced. WG routed Lutheran South 7-0, while Summit pulled away from a game Parkway West squad 4-2. The D1 final is also as anticipated - the Battle of Cape Girardeau. Notre Dame hummed along to a 4-0 win over Desoto and Cape Central handled a good Farmington squad 4-1. All eight C3 finals will take place on Thursday - what a night that promises to be throughout the state!
In Class 2 action, not one seed upset of the 11 matches played, but plenty of close games showed how competitive C2 will be in the weeks ahead. D1 didn’t disappoint with two intense games between four final four worthy teams. We thought OT may be in the books and it was when Saxony Lutheran used a golden goal to outlast 3 seed Perryville 2-1. The other semi had top seed Affton slipping past 5 seed Bayless also by a 2-1 score. One goal games stayed the norm in D2 where top seed Collegiate School ended University City’s season and 2 seed Principia ousted Soldan. Top overall seed Westminster Christian and Orchard Farm (4) took care of business in D3, ousting St. Charles West and St. Charles, respectively. Three seed Sacred Heart battled gamely, but couldn’t take out 2 seed Odessa, losing 3-2. #2 overall Marshall handled Boonville 4-0 to reach the final in D6 as well. In D7 2 seed Barstow, 3 seed Center and 4 seed Oak Grove joined top seed Harrisonville (bye) in the semifinals with comfortable wins last night.
