November 16, Quarterfinal Recap Blog #11

November 16, Final Four Preview Blog #11

We’ve reached the beginning of the end - the championship weekend awaits!

What started in early August with 224 schools is now down to a final 16 - four in each class - as Missouri’s 56th state soccer concludes at World Wide Technology Soccer Park in Fenton. Each class has at least one repeat from last year’s final four weekend, but only one (C4 Rockhurst) actually won. Two schools (Rockhurst and Excelsior Springs) are making their third straight appearance, while three (Laquey, Logan-Rogersville and Westminster Christian) make final four debuts. Three schools (Bishop DuBourg, Orchard Farm, East (KC)) return after near championship misses last year. Bishop DuBourg lost to eventual champion Borgia 2-1 in the semis, while Orchard Farm and East (KC) both fell in the finals in penalties.

Since implementing the Championship Factor (a system that adjusts private/parochial success and moves those schools up classes based on success over a six-year cycle) prior to the 2020 season, eight of the 12 finals have been decided by one goal (two in penalties, one in OT) and going back the last six years, 18 of the 24 state championship games were one goal finals. Based on the teams represented this year, it would not be a shock to see that trend continue.

The largest margin of victories in the past six years were each three goal wins from Lutheran St. Charles, Ft. Zumwalt South, John Burroughs and Priory, but the trend as of late has been a highly competitive final four weekend.

Private schools have held a significant lead in soccer championships in the history of the state playoff system, although the public schools (particularly in C2 and C3) have leveled that a bit. Over the past six years, private schools won 15 titles (C4 - 5, C3 - 0, C2 - 5, C1 - 5) compared to nine public school championships (C4 - 1, C3- 6, C2 - 1, C1 - 1). (For context, private schools make up roughly 1/4 of the entire soccer-playing schools.)

Interesting to note is that Marshall (2022 C2 champ) is the only school from the Class 1 and 2 championships (public and private) over the years that has competed in the same class it won in this year.

Since MO went to four classes in 2014…

*Only four schools have won the C3 title: Webster Groves (3), Ft. Zumwalt South (3), Rockwood Summit (2), Parkway Central (1).

*There have been eight different C1 champs in the nine years - only Barstow (2014, 2018) has won two. None of the FF teams in C1 have a title during that time and only (Duchesne - 1994, 2003) has won before.

*Perryville (2014) and Marshall (2022) are the only public schools to win a C2 title. This year only #1 Westminster Christian remains from the private schools.

*C4 #1 Rockhurst has won three titles since 2014, but two wins this weekend could mean even more…previous national #1 Cincinnati Moeller fell in its state final, paving way for the Hawklets to move to the top of the United Soccer Coaches most recent poll. A state championship could very likely mean a national title. Rockhurst finished 14th in last year’s final ranking.

**For those interested in watching from the comfort of their own home, all games will be broadcast live at https://www.mshsaa.tv/ (subscription/payment required - $15.75 allows you to watch all weekend). Tickets for each day are $10 and can be purchased online at https://www.mshsaa.org/CMSPages/Tickets.aspx.**

Class 1 - Friday
#1 Bishop DuBourg (22-3) (+.51) vs. #3 Maryville (16-3) 10 AM Field 2
This is the first meeting between the top-seeded Cavaliers and the Spoofhounds…the teams didn’t play one common opponent this season…Each team has experience at the Final Four with Bishop DuBourg finishing third last season and Maryville third in 2021…BDB has an edge in schedule strength having played final four teams Duchesne (L 3-1, W 2-1 (OT)), Westminster Christian ( L 2-1), Springfield Catholic (W 2-0). Maryville defeated C# Final Four Excelsior Springs 3-2.

Final Fours including this season (last appearance) - BDB (5 - 2022), MV (2 - 2021)
Playoff appearances - BDB 8, MV - 6
Best finish (year) - BDB 2nd (1977, 1979), MV 3rd (2021)
Current Win streak - BDB - 11, MV - 5

#2 Duchesne (20-7) (+1.50) vs. #16 Laquey (12-11) Noon Field 2
First meeting between the two teams. Duchesne edged Father Tolton Saturday in a quarterfinal 1-0, while Laquey lost to Tolton 6-0. The biggest MPR mismatch of the Final Four as Duchesne has been at the top of the rankings all year while Laquey limped into the playoffs with two losses to end the year, but found its way to its first FF appearance. Laquey ended the 2022 season as the #1 MPR C1 team, but got upset in the district finals by New Covenant.

Final Fours (last appearance) - D (7 - 2007), L (first appearance)
Playoff appearances - D 17, L - 7
Best finish (year) - D 1st (1994, 2003), L none
Current Win streak - D - 5, L - 3

Saturday
Third Place 11 AM
Championship 10 AM


Class 2 - Friday
#1 Westminster Christian (19-5) (+.93) vs. #16 Excelsior Springs (14-5) 2:30 PM Field 2
First meeting between the teams. No common opponents this season. The Wildcats finally got over the hump and reached its first FF after entering the playoffs in 2022 as the overall #1 and falling to Orchard Farm in the district finals. WC started the season 1-2 and has four one-goal losses on the season. Three of its five losses are FF teams (Burroughs twice, Ladue in OT). ES had a bumpy start at 1-3 (including a 3-1 loss to Maryville), but has benefitted from a dynamic offense (4.7 Goals/game) to win 13 of 15. ES has the experience but WC has the season’s best credentials on its side.

Final Fours (last appearance) - WC (first appearance), ES (3 - 2022)
Playoff appearances - WC 3, ES - 5
Best finish (year) - WC none, ES 2nd (2004)
Current Win streak - WC - 4, ES - 10


#4 Orchard Farm (23-2) vs. #2 Logan-Rogersville (25-0) (+.06) 5 PM Field 2
First meeting, no common opponents. This could be one of the better matches of the day where something will have to give. Both teams score at over 4/game and hold opponents to under .7 goals/game, but more importantly, neither team has lost a game in over two months. OF fell to Duchesne 3-2 Sept. 5 and lost in penalties at Ft. Zumwalt West before that, but that’s it for either team. OF has been especially dominant in the playoffs - winning four games by a combined 27-0 margin and have 17 shutouts on the season. LR has been just as good in the postseason, winning its three games by 15-0 margin. The Wildcats have a win over C3 FF Springfield Catholic 2-0 and have posted 19 shutouts in their 25 games. One thing to note about this game - it’s the late one on Field 2, not known for the best lighting.

Final Fours (last appearance) - OF (2 - 2022), LR (first appearance)
Playoff appearances - OF 4, LR - 2
Best finish (year) - OF 2nd (2020, 2022), LR none
Current Win streak - OF - 21, LR - 25

Saturday
Third Place 2:30 PM
Championship 4 PM

Class 3 - Friday
#1 Rockwood Summit (19-4-1) (+.84) vs. #3 East (KC) (17-2) 11 AM Field 1
Second meeting - Summit beat East 2-1 in 2017 Rock Bridge’s Tournament. No common opponents. If you’re planning on going to see Friday’s games, you may want to get there early because this one has “potential classic” written all over it, even with RS holding a sizable MPR advantage. Summit has looked the part of #1 most of the season and hasn’t lost since a 3-2 OT defeat at Kirkwood Sept. 30 despite a demanding all C3 and C4 schedule that included 18 games against teams with winning records (one of those teams is on the other side of the bracket in Ladue - RS won that 2-0 Sept. 5). Since losing to Van Horn Sept. 7 the Bears have been on a rampage - outscoring opponents 91-5 in its 14-game winning streak. The schedule strength doesn’t equate to RS, but the Bears proved last year that they are a title-worthy team.

Final Fours (last appearance) - RS (4 - 2019), E (2 - 2022)
Playoff appearances - RS 13, E - 4
Best finish (year) - RS 1st (2016, 2019), E 2nd (2022)
Current Win streak - OF - 12, E - 14

#16 Ladue (11-14) vs. #8 Springfield Catholic (19-8) (+.34) 1:30 PM Field 1
First meeting, no common opponents. Ladue enters the FF weekend as the only team under .500, but that mark is a bit misleading due to a four game forfeit stretch in mid-September. The Rams knocked out defending champs Webster Groves in the district semis and then won a district title with nine players on the field against Whitfield before finally getting past Ft. Zumwalt South in the quarters after losing to the Bulldogs in the playoffs three previous times. Ladue has played six playoff teams this year, beating Westminster Christian 2-1 in OT, FZS 1-0 and losing to Lindbergh, CBC, Burroughs and Summit. Springfield Catholic is one of two teams  remaining playing in a classification higher (Burroughs is the other) because of previous success, but Catholic hasn’t been to a FF since 2014 in C2. The Irish started the program with seven consecutive FF trips, winning twice in the smaller classes. A 6-5 start wouldn’t have signaled a FF run, but the Irish swapped some players around midseason and the efforts have paid off. Catholic only won two of its five games against playoff teams (both against 10-18 Springfield Central), while losing to Ozark, Logan-Rogersville and Bishop DuBourg.

Final Fours (last appearance) - L (2 - 2021), SC (8 - 2014)
Playoff appearances - L 11, SC - 12
Best finish (year) - L 2nd (2021), SC 1st (2011, 2012)
Current Win streak - L - 5, SC - 5

Saturday
Third Place 12:00 PM
Championship 1:30 PM


Class 4 - Friday
#9 Lindbergh (22-5) vs. #5 Park Hill South (19-2-1) (+.14) 4 PM Field 1
First meeting, no common opponents. Lindbergh is arguably one of the hotter teams entering the FF, having knocked out two MCC powers (Vianney and CBC) to get there. The 3-0 quarterfinal win over last year’s runners-up CBC was particularly impressive and a 10-0 neutral field record also puts the Flyers in a good place to reach its second finals despite being the MPR underdog. Park Hill South enters on a 13-game unbeaten streak (tying Rock Bridge 1-1 in late October before finishing the Bruins in Saturday’s quarters 2-0). The Panthers survived a scare in penalties against Liberty in the district semis and got past rival Park Hill 2-1 in the finals, so it hasn’t been a relaxing postseason by any means. Twelve of the last 14 games have been decided by 1 or 2 goals, so another close one Friday afternoon would be status quo, especially with two teams who have performed almost identically all season. Lindbergh is averaging 3.4 goals/game and giving up 1, while PHS is at 3.2 and .9.

Final Fours (last appearance) - L (4 - 2019), PHS (3 - 1999)
Playoff appearances - L 11, PHS - 11
Best finish (year) - L 1st (1994), PHS 2nd (1998)
Current Win streak - L - 5, PHS - 6

#13 John Burroughs (18-5) vs. #1 Rockhurst (22-0) (+.87) 7 PM Field 1
Second meeting - Rockhurst topped JB 2-1 in the 2021 C4 semis. No common opponents. These two are no strangers to the big time - as both are considered in the elite tier of MO soccer over the years. The Bombers have collected most of their hardware in the smaller classes and were expected to fade into the background when pushed into C4 with heavyweights like SLUH and Chaminade in their district, but JB didn’t get that memo, reaching its second FF as a C4 school in the past three years. The 2021 squad was a huge underdog in the semis but made it close against eventual champ Rockhurst. With an enrollment of just 344 (Rockhurst is at 1392, Lindbergh 1688 and Park Hill South 1489) the Bombers have another tall task at hand, but are guided by one of the state’s best coaches in Alan Trzecki and are used to playing the big boys. Rockhurst is also led by one of MO’s best in Matt Darby and not much more can be said about what is on the line for the Hawklets this weekend. A national title, a third straight championship (joining only a handful of schools to ever do it) and an undefeated season mean that the Hawklets have the biggest target on their backs. The playoffs have pushed the Rock, too. Ozark came within a goal in the quarters and Ray-Pec nearly stunned them in the district finals, erasing a late 2-0 lead before falling in OT on a penalty.

Final Fours (last appearance) - JB (10 - 2021), R (28 - 2022)
Playoff appearances - JB 18, R - 41
Best finish (year) - JB 1st (2008, 2013, 2016, 2018), R 1st (1998, 1999, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2013, 2017, 2021, 2022)
Current Win streak - JB - 7, R - 31 (last loss 10-14-22, 2-1 to Chaminade)

Saturday
Third Place 5 PM
Championship 7 PM