Gateway Classic: Day 2.

Game 10:  at Lou Fusz vs. Peoria Notre Dame (0-3). 

Yes, the score is awful. 

The game was 0-1 15 minutes into the second half when we were called for a handball in the box. I will reserve judgment until I watch the video, but I thought it was ball to hand. A no-call. 

We well might have lost anyway as we have now logged 180 minutes without a goal in the tourney but that PK took some serious wind out of our sails. And as we compounded it with the miscue in the back on the third goal—well, we came away with the ugly score to go with it. 

We will need to play well tomorrow to leave St. Louis on a positive. 

BWhite named Curt Whigham the BWhite Player of the Match. It was a second strong match by Curt. He has been a bright light this weekend. 

We now stand 5-2-3. 

 

 

 

 

Stats:

Saints: Shots. 6 (3) Corners. 4 (Wherry 2. Wirt. Gaspo). 

PND. Shots. 11 (4). Corners. 0

4:58 in 15. (12 crosses it for the flick in)

Second Half:  

Saints. 

Shots: 3 (1). Corners: (Gaspo. Gabriel)

PND:  9 (4). Corners. 0. 

15:13 in 15 PK off handball call in https://youtu.be/dZt_sCwyuPQbox. 

20:14 in 12 (Our goal kick settled by our defender but we are picked sending PND 1 v 1 to goal)

Gateway Classic: Game 1

Game 9: At Lou Fusz vs. Eureka (0-0 2 OT, falling on 8th PK kicker)

Well, we fell for the first time all year, giving up no goals. Wow. 

We were just ok in the first half offensively but our defense anchored by Aubrey Evans played so well the entire match. (It's no wonder BWhite named Aubrey Player of the Match; he was special). 

Second half we exploded offensively as well. I did think Eureka's keeper was special. How he saved Curt's shot near the end of regulation I will never know. And Curt lasered another shot in OT that Gaspo followed, then Diggs followed, and he saved all 3. That's quite a performance.

They got off 1 shot the entire second half, no corners. We had 16 shots in the second half alone. My. 

Well—let's get the next two. 

We are 5-1-3. 

Stats:

First Half. 

Saints

Shots: 7 (3)  Corners:  3 (Whigham 2. Caragher). 

Eureka:  Shots: 3 (1). Corners. 1. 

Overtime and 2nd Half

Saints:  Shots. 16 (4). Corners. 6 (Curt 2. Diggs. Stoecklein. Wherry. Gaspo. )

Eureka. Shots. 1 (0) Corners. 0. 

PK's Made. Caragher. Arias. Gabriel. Gonzalez. Whigham. Howard. 

At BV Southwest

Game 8: At BV Southwest (3-0)

Tonight had to be our most complete soccer match of the year. We were aggressive from the opening whistle to the last whistle. Southwest had not lost a match until tonight. And you can see why. They have a nice line-up. Very nice.

We got on the board early as Gaspo just out-toughed two defenders to create enough space to finish a ball near post.  

Our second goal looked like a Man U drill with Wirt structuring a nice t-ball through the dummy for Parker's slot finish.  It was a great goal (the build and all).

And then Sam Sketers continued his deadball dominance chipping a nice ball to the back post, side netting.  The game remained at 3-0.

BWhite named Danny Gabriel the BWhite Player of the Match. He did not have an assist or a goal, but he had the pass leading up to the assist, etc.  He just flat out won the middle of the field against a first-rate midfield. Curt Whigham, Evan Neely and Esteban Arias also played well in the middle. 

 

Hats off to the defense, especially our centerbacks, Aubrey and Reid, for getting a clean slate tonight against some explosive offensive players. Sam had another nice night in goal, and Joey a nice night at defensive centermid. 

 

We had a goal of remaining undefeated heading into the National tourney this weekend, and it wasn't always pretty, but we got her done.

Congrats: 5-0-3 at midway.

Stats:

First Half:

Saints: Shots: 14 (5) Corner: 6 ( Gaspo 2, Whigham, Wirt, Gabriel, Neely)

25:34 Gasparovich (Gonzalez wins the 50/50 ball heading it through for Gaspo)

18:13 Stoecklein (Wirt gets to the baseline to T it back through the Gaspo dummy and the Gonzalez feint).


Timbers: Shots: 9 (3) Corners: 0

Second Half:

Saints: Shots: 5 (1) Corners: 2 (Caragher, Whigham)

35:03 Sketers (Wherry has a nice heave that Sketers flicks on before chipping it in)

Timbers: Shots: 6 (3) Corners: 2

At Home vs. BV North

Game 7 at Aquinas vs. BV North (2-1 OT). 

Ok. Here's one we should not have lost then we should have lost, and finally we did not lose. 

First of all BV North is much better than their record. We hung a 4th overtime loss on them. 4. 

But they only developed a chance to score the one time we fell asleep off their goalie punt. (Granted that was one heck of a kick, though.) And they did score there with only 10 to go. 

BWhite Player of the Game Devin Diggs deserves some major kudos. Whigham to Gabriel to Diggs with about a minute to go was mostly Diggs. He got to the ball so quickly and with such force that when the defender glided over to create the collision he had laid Devin out to rest: just a huge PK!  Danny tied it. 

And then in overtime for Devin to have the soccer IQ to invert the t-ball off Ricardo's pass was brilliant. And Landon's pin of his defender with the inside run to get to it just ended one bizarre match. Wow. Just a great golden goal.

BWhite also gave a shoutout to Wherry. 90 minutes of very good play. 

We got great minutes again off the bench from Arias, Geiss, Ewert, and Holland . . . Not to mention Wirt. 

But probably the play not many will think about or even recall has to center on Kimball. He heads the long kick just outside his 18-box back to himself inside the box before finding Whigham's feet on a low liner. That gets us to the PK. Sam's intuitive play might just have saved the EKL race for us. We will have to see what we do with an added chance. 

We, however, need to offer up some thank you's for this one. 

Stats:

First half:  Saints:  Shots: 5 (1). Corners. 2 (Wherry, Diggs)

Mustangs:  Shots: 2 (1). Corners. 0

Second Half and OT. 

Saints  Shots: 12 (5). Corners:  3 (Sketers, Wirt, Evans)

1:32 Gabriel (Diggs drilled in the box)

3:48 OT Wirt (Diggs inverts the t-Ball)

Mustangs:  Shots: 6 (3) Corners: 0

10:46 Illes (goalie's punt)

At Miege

Game 6 vs. Miege at Miege (1-1 2 OT's)

We were quite fortunate to escape this match with a tie as midway through the first overtime, Miege ended up 1 on 1 with Sam; he got down and low quickly, making just a brilliant save to keep the game even. Check it out!

The entire match offered up some physical back-and-forth soccer. It had to be a fun game to watch. Neither goal was much. We scored early off our throw-in play that actually Miege headed toward goal, and then, through their keeper. 

Their goal came fairly late when Miege pushed a ball forward towards goal. Our two defenders just stopped assuming an offsides, but Miege players kept going to get an easy finish. 

We started short-handed as Danny was still out from his concussion. Shortly in, we lost Gasparovich, our leading goal-scorer to a concussion also. He had to head to the hospital. By the end of the match we had lost Howard, Sketers, and Evans. Wherry and the Miracles held tight though. 

BWhite named Ryan Holland and Sam Kimball Co-Players of the Game. Ryan began playing forward then moved to defensive center mid before finishing at centerback. He was good at each position. And Sam played superbly all match for us in goal. His saves, kicks, and organizing all helped us maintain the tie. 

You can see why Miege has been a Top 50 team this year, and why they will probably get back to one before the year ends. They play some nice soccer, and I love how hard they go to the ball.  50-50's seemed theirs all night, and they are so good in the air. I have to think that they are going to hang a banner in November.

STATS:

Saints: First Half: Shots: 5 (1)     Corners: 1 (Gonzalez)
Own Goal: 21:47 (Wherry's heaves the long throw that is mis-headed, then lost by the keeper)

Stags: Shots: 4 (2) Corners: 1

Second Half and OT: 

Saints: Shots: 4 (3) Corners: 0

Stags: Shots: 3 (2) Corners: 1

12:06 Bowman (7)

EKL Home vs. Gardner

Game 5: vs. Gardner at home (5-0)

This was one physical contest in the first half. We lost Danny Gabriel to a concussion a few minutes in when he was undercut on a headball, then hitting the turf hard.

 

It remained 0-0 until the last few seconds of the first half.  Curt Whigham (The BWhite Player of the Match) moved back to outside right wing just before the first half ended.  He created a quick T-Ball we didn't pull the trigger on, and then he crossed the final ball in  that got cleared before Sketers put it nicely back on for a Stoecklein header that came off the keeper before Wirt knocked it home. (We tried Sam some at wingback last game, hoping for some offense as he had been our best offensive weapon. That move paid some dividends tonight.)

Second half we showed some fire. Just 14 seconds in Whigham hit an inverted T-ball to the backpost where Devin was able to run on to the cross, beat his defender, and knock in another left-footed goal for himself.

Losing Danny, who has flat out been our best player this year, did seem to affect us most of the first half.  We did, finally, though, get some kids stepping up tonight.  Evan gave us some great center midfield minutes, and how good was Parker? B gave him a shoutout for his play at center midfield for the match.

So many of our kids came off the bench to play well in that second half. Ryan Holland just had some big-time sticks at centerback, and Shaw and Martinek held solid on the flanks. Esteban also contributed a lot at center midfield. And once again Cole played well in that defensive center midfield spot, tonight scoring one and assisting on another.

But Evans, Sketers, Howard and Wherry looked some much more compact and connected to our midfield tonight. Our offense and our defense were both good, especially in the second half. Gardner does have more losses than wins but they have played everyone close—3-2 against Mill Valley, for example.

We travel to Miege next Tuesday. That will be one tough battle for us. And it will carry some EKL significance.

Stats:

First Half:

Saints: Shots: 12 (4) Corners: 2 (Wirt 2)

:03 Wirt (Sketers hits the D-ball for a Stoecklein header off the keeper)

Trailblazers: Shots: 3 (2)

Second Half:

Saints:

Shots: 25 (8) Corners: 2 (Whigham, Gaspo)

39:47 Diggs (Whigham inverts the t-ball)

27:58 Geiss (Ricardo T's it through the Arias feint)

22:43 P. Stoecklein (Whigham bends the corner in for a Geiss redirect)

14:53 Gasparovich (Caragher chips it over the line for a run-on and a 1-v-1)

At Mill Valley

Game 4 vs. Mill Valley at Mill Valley (1-1, called at half for lightning)

Wow, the season certainly makes you question the soccer full-half rule.  Those once again lucky enough tonight to not quite get to half get to resume their game where they left off, but we, once again, earn our second tie with lots of time still on the clock.

Mill Valley scored from the PK mark about half way through the first half (and as it turned out, half way through the game.)

It certainly wasn't like that was there only opportunity; they had 2-3 very good chances to score, but they did not.  We had some very good chances to score, but we only did on just a great turn-and-shoot by Gaspo.  Now, for a moment we scored a second goal when the assistant ref signaled a goal on our late corner kick.  But after a long conference with the center official that goal was waived off. (Check it out as it does look as if the center ref got it right.)

No, we were not particularly sharp, and honestly, Mill Valley's field sets soccer back 15 years, but we were both playing on it. So.

We got some great play off the bench tonight as Cole Geiss played most of the first half at defensive center midfield, a spot where we were struggling to win balls. He was a nice presence in the middle. BWhite gave the nod to Gasparovich as the BWhite Player of the Match. His goal was big, but his gritty play and his desire to get us forward served as one of our few bright spots for the game.

Reid Howard's goal-saving tackle is a play to remember as well. Until our defense learns to get into better shape, we will need those athletic plays to keep the opponents out of the net.

Devin Diggs continues to produce chances for us on the outside as he put a couple of nice crosses into the box, and he earned us 2 corner kicks.

Weather has been the story this fall so far.  And the rest of the week looks pretty dicey as well.

Mill Valley has a solid team, one that will compete for a final four spot during post season.  We probably will see them again.

We now stand at 2-0-2, 1-0-2 in the EKL.

Stats:

First Half:

Saints: Shots: 14 (4) Corners: 4 (Diggs 2, Nelly, Wherry)

35:11 Gasparovich (Caragher moves the ball up 2 levels finding Gaspo's feet)


Mill Valley:  Shots: 3 (1) Corners: 0

23:37 Jake (PK)

BVNW appears at Saint Thomas Aquinas

Game 3: 8 September at home vs. BV Northwest (2-1)

It's our first year out of the Top Dawg so we actually have a home soccer game against BV Northwest. That's never happened in our stadium. Well, we are 1-0 against them there now. And wow are they good. 

We have just had a great week, knocking off two of the top 6A teams in the state.  I thought we played very well again tonight in a game that should have ended 2-0.  

We continue to create some great chances to score, and every once in awhile we cash a goal.  Gabriel once again threaded the needle, finding Diggs on a great box ball. Devin hit a nice left-footed shot for his first varsity goal.  We added a second half deadball that Sam Sketers followed the shot off the post. He seems always to be around the net on those set pieces.

And my we had several other great opportunities that we did not cash.  They did score in the final 2 minutes on a 40 yard shot we should have just caught if we were more focused. Kimball, however, did have a nice overall match. He made one unbelievable acrobatic save to stop a 1-v-1 break. Just tremendous. 

Other than that break-away in the second half, we did hold them at bay.  BWhite named defensive center midfielder, Joey Caragher, and wingback, Andrew Wherry as his Players of the Match. Northwest just had a very good midfield, so Joey's work at the back of the triangle was so critical in shutting their attack down.  And Wherry had yet another consistent evening at the key left back spot. And he unveiled his long throw tonight as well. Nice.

We now stand 2-0-1, and we have probably stunned a few if they caught our first match.

STATS:

First Half: Shots: 11 (3) Corners: 1 (Diggs)

15:43 Diggs (Gabriel slides the box ball across)

Huskies: Shots: 8 (3) Corners: 1

Second Half:

Saints:  Shots: 20 (9) Corners: 0

17:47 Sketers (Stoecklein serves the free kick)

Huskies: 

Shots: 4 (2) Corners: 2

2:11 Brewer (a rip from 40)

Washburn Rural at STA

Game 2: Washburn Rural at STA (2-1 2 OT's)

Wow. We needed that.  Rural jumped off to a 1-0 lead on a long deadball, and it looked as if they were going to make it stand, despite how well we were playing, especially in the second half.

But with less than 4 to go, we matched them with a nice direct kick that Stoecklein drove to the back side for a Sam Sketers game-tying head-in. That got us to overtime.

Rural was just all over us in the first overtime, living in their end. With countless long throw-ins, corners, it seems amazing that we made it out of that OT and into the second.

But we did, and we just got a great finish early in the second overtime as Ricardo delivered one for his new baby sister off a great threaded ball from Gabriel.

Rural will win lots of matches this year as they are just not going to give up many goals. I thought their keeper was special, and with that defense, well most teams are not going to cash many against them.

For us, it was just good to see us play some good soccer. We moved the ball well; we created some opportunities, and that is all we can ask for.  Honestly, the game was going to be a positive even if we lost 1-0. But we did not.

BWhite did name Parker Stoecklein as the BWhite Player of the Match, and my oh my was he good in the middle of the field.  And how about that game-tying deadball to Sketers?  Just a special match for the freshman.

But B had all kinds of choices for that award as we got great play tonight from so many. Hopefully, we build on this as we get ready for a very good BV Northwest team.

Rural will be in the 6A state final four. They are quite good! And look at our last few games with them; well most all of our games with them—a goal here or a goal there. We got them 1-0 last year up there with Jay Johnson nabbing a golden goal 2 years ago here. 

STATS:

First Half

Saints: Shots: 7 (2) Corners: 4 (Sketers, Diggs, Wirt and Whigham)

Blues: Shots: 5 (2) Corners:4

27:00 Giddens (Blues loft the long direct kick to the back post where it bounces and is finished off the half-volley)
2nd Half and OT:

Saints: Shots: 16 (8) Corners: 5 (Whigham 4, Wherry) 

3:42 Sketers (Stoecklein drives the ball to the back post for the head-in)
8:52 2OT Gonzalez (Gabriel slides it in front)

Blues: Shots: 2 (1) Corners: 3

Saints, down 1-0, with less than 4 to go, noticed the "rally mantis" made an appearance on the bench!