State Quarters vs. BV Southwest.

Game 19: 1 November at BV Southwest for State Quarters (0-1)

Well, there is no joy in Mudville as the mighty Casey has struck out. 

Southwest cashed a corner with about 1 minute left in the first half, and they made it stand. One of our flaws all year came in our inability to protect the scoring zones in soccer:  the first five and the last five minutes of halves. 

I will say this: BV Southwest brought some serious energy to the game tonight (way more than the first time we played them). And probably that contributed the most to keeping us off the scoreboard. 

We did have 2-3 great opportunities but that is all we had, and we did not cash any of those. 

We all hate to see this senior class who wanted success so badly to have to bow out early. But honestly, it was just a tight soccer match tonight where one deadball made the difference. Hats off to Coach Pendleton and the T-Wolves. 

Good luck to them at state. 

Stats. 

First Half:  

Saints: Shots. 5 (3). Corners. 3. (Gabriel. 2. Wirt)

TWolves. Shots. 2 (1) Corners. 3

1:00 Pendleton (2nd straight corner gets knocked down on the front post.) (BTW: The game-winning goal comes off a corner that should not have been a corner as the first corner is knocked out of bounds for what should have been a goal kick.)

Second Half:

Saints: Shots. 4. (1). Corners. 0. 

T-Wolves. Shots. 5 (3). Corners. 1

State bound! Luck bounces Blue Valley Southwest’s way against St. Thomas Aquinas

POSTED BY MIKE LAVIERI  · NOVEMBER 2, 2016 9:00 AM

Blue Valley Southwest sophomore forward Aidan Bates, right, heads a ball off a corner late in the first half. The ball, which would ricocheted off the post, fall to the feet of sophomore forward Nathan Pendleton, who scored the game’s only goal to send the Timberwolves to state.

A lucky break and a lucky bounce were all Blue Valley Southwest needed as it capitalized on a St. Thomas Aquinas miscue late in the first half to advance to the Class 5A state tournament with a 1-0 victory.

It looked as if the pressure from the Timberwolves was for naught as a corner kick was squandered because of miscommunication, but Aquinas cleared, the ball found its way back to the Aquinas end for a throw in and the ball was sent into the box.

It wasn’t a quality throw, however, BV Southwest caught its break.

Saints goalkeeper Sam Kimball, who 99 times out of 100 catches the ball, had it slip through his hands and out it went for another Timberwolves corner kick.

The first ball was low and kicked out for another corner.

This time, the ball into the box was much better as sophomore forward Aidan Bates was able to rise up above the defense and put a ball on goal.

BV Southwest caught its lucky bounce.

The ball kicked off the post past a diving Kimball leaving the goal wide open. Sophomore forward Nathan Pendleton was in the right place to corral the ball and pass it into the open net.

“When you see him go up you know he’s going to win it, so you have to get into a position to be successful (if there’s a rebound),” Pendleton said. “I was there and we were successful.”

The Timberwolves staved off a furious first 10-minutes rush from Aquinas to begin the second half to put the game back in balance.

They had two opportunities 13 minutes into the half as Pendleton couldn’t convert a 1-on-1 opportunity and another ball found the post, but Aquinas was able to clear.

The Saints were the better team for much of the first half, but couldn’t put their chances on goal or get a shot off when they needed to.

Aquinas coach Craig Ewing thought his team could have been up 2-0 after the first 30 minutes.

“If you don’t cash those early opportunities — like last time we played them we were up 2-0 after 15 minutes,” Ewing said. “This time it was 0-0 with two minutes to go and that makes a difference.

“I don’t think we had chances to finish. I don’t think we did a very good job of that. Defensively, I thought we played pretty well. They have a couple special players. I thought (sophomore midfielder Matt) Weaver had a great game against us.”

Craig Ewing was more than congratulatory for his friend and counterpart Jason Pendleton.

Ewing thinks Jason Pendleton’s team is very good and can win the whole thing in Emporia this weekend.

“To me, Jason is one of the best coaches in town,” Ewing said.

The game’s intensity picked up as the time dwindled. With 1:26 remaining Saints senior defender Aubrey Evans picked up a yellow card for a slide tackle and with 34 seconds left Kimball received a red card.

Kimball ran all the way up to midfield to try and win the ball and give Aquinas a few more chances to score, but as he made the tackle he also took out Bates.

Ewing immediately apologized on the sideline and Jason Pendleton knew there was no malicious intent.

“He was trying to win the ball as he was supposed to do,” Jason Pendleton said. “The only reason it’s a red card is everybody is (by our goal) and he’s the last defender. He did everything he’s supposed to do. Craig is a good friend of mine, he’s a class guy and he was super congratulatory afterwards.”

Ewing was worried about Bates because he knows BV Southwest will need him for this weekend, but Jason Pendleton said he should be fine.

As the seconds ticked down, the Timberwolves bench knew what was coming. As soon as the board read zeros, a mosh pit erupted in front of student section.

After Jason Pendleton talked to his team, the student section rushed the field chanting.

“Going into this game we thought we had a chance,” Jason Pendleton said. “Anytime you play Craig’s team, they’re going to compete incredibly hard. You’re playing against him and 20 years of history, trophies and whatnot. The most important part was getting our kids to believe they could win this game and then would they be willing to do the work necessary to put themselves in a position to be successful.

“Going back-to-back is really big. I don’t think a lot of people, at the beginning of the year, thought we put ourselves in a position to be back at state.”

BV Southwest will face Kapaun Mt. Carmel in its semifinal match on Friday at 7 p.m., at Emporia High. St. James and Bishop Carroll play in the other semifinal.

Gateway Classic Leaves St. Louis

HS: Gateway event is leaving St. Louis

Article Written by Sheldon Shealer

Published: October 19, 2016

Comments

The Gateway City Soccer Classic is now history.

Event organizer Eric Stratman confirmed that the mega-high school boys soccer showcase played at venues all around St. Louis for the past decade will not return to the Gateway City in 2017.

Citing exhaustion and frustration, Stratman is moving the event, which will be renamed, to Burlington, Iowa, for the fall of 2017.

Sixty-three teams representing 13 states competed in this year's Gateway City Classic. The tournament field included 17 teams that have been in the SIMA FAB 50 this fall, seven of them currently in the rankings, in addition to two of the Prep Top 10 teams. No other high school event -- boys or girls -- plays such a major role in assessing high school teams from around the country.

The yet-to-be-named event in Burlington, Iowa, will max out between 48 and 52 teams, and all contests will be played at the Burlington Regional Rec Plex between Sept. 28-30.

"I have been considering this (move) for the last few years, and the final straw came this year," Stratman said. "One coach saw me and said, 'Eric, you don't look good.' And that was on Friday (the first full day of competition). It's a combination of exhaustion and frustration. Changing games on late notice, finding officials -- hoping they would show up. Costs keep going up."

Stratman then said rather than dwell on the reasons to leave St. Louis, he wanted to focus why Burlington is a better option. He cited immaculate fields all in one location for teams, officials, fans and recruiters. He said a big draw to Burlington is the away-from-the-field experiences available to visiting teams, including Fun City and steamboat tours. Since Iowa is not in its high school season, Stratman does not envision having any problem finding officials, which were stretched thin in the St. Louis area due to high school and college seasons in play.

Stratman informed the 2016 Gateway participants of his plan to move the event and he has confirmation that many will follow him to Burlington. He has verbal commitments from eight teams that have been in the SIMA FAB 50 this year, and has fielded inquiries from schools as far away as North Carolina. He expects some of the St. Louis perennial private school powers will not make the trip to Burlington, so he is considering a 12-team showcase event in St. Louis between those schools and elite out-of-state opponents.

The Gateway City Soccer Classic started as the Quincy Soccer Classic in 2005 and was moved to the St. Louis suburb of Collinsville, Ill., for the 2007 and 2008 seasons. In 2009, the renamed Gateway City Soccer Classic was played at venues on both sides of the Mississippi River in both Missouri and Illinois. Also, the event grew from the original 12 teams in 2005 to the mid-60s the past several years. More than 130 schools representing 21 fall-playing states have competed at Gateway. The volume of teams and varying venues were both part of the allure of the Gateway City Soccer Classic and it ended up being its downfall.

Stratman told coaches that he, "had always held out hope that a complex would be built that we could use (in the St. Louis area), but every time something gathers a little steam, it manages to fall flat and not get done. I can't even begin to tell you how many meetings I have attended and promises made only to have it not work out."

State and nationally ranked teams from Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas and Missouri have already verbally committed to the 2017 event in Burlington.

"I've built great relationships with the coaches, they know I run a good tournament, so I'm hoping they will still come," Stratman said. "I hope they will give (Burlington) a chance. All I ask is give it one year. If you don't like it, then so be it. But I don't think that will be the case."

SOME GATEWAY CITY SOCCER CLASSIC HISTORY

* In 2015, Christian Brothers College (Mo.), coached by Terry Michler, faced off against Pingry School (N.J.), coached by Miller Bugliari, in a meeting between the top two all-time winningest high school soccer coaches. Michler and Bugliari, despite nearly 100 years of coaching and more than 1,700 victories combined, had never met prior to that contest.

* In 2011, DeMatha Catholic (Md.) edged Jesuit (Calif.) in a shootout in a game that featured the nation's two longest undefeated streaks at the time. Since that time, Jesuit has moved to the winter soccer season and no longer competes in the fall. But that result stands as Jesuit's lone loss in three trips to Gateway.

* In 2009, St. Thomas Aquinas (Kan.) won its bracket title, which vaulted them toward a perfect season and a FAB 50 national title.

* More than a dozen current or recent MLS players competed as high school players at the Gateway City Soccer Classic.

* Christian Brothers (Mo.) holds the distinction of the most wins (22) and bracket titles (four) at the Gateway event. The Cadets won the Bracket A title this year, allowing it to move to the top of both lists.

Regional Finals vs. #1 Topeka Seaman

Game 18, 27 October at Seaman (1-0 OT)

Wow. Evan Neely was GOLDEN as Devin Diggs got to the baseline with less than 3 left in OT to T it back through a great Curt Whigham dummy. 

It was a match where Sam Kimball had to make a couple of off-the-chart saves to keep the match at nil to even get to overtime. Check this out!

We did have opportunities, but we offered up pretty weak strikes. And despite many dangerous throw-ins and double-digit corner kicks we just could not find twine. 

I was impressed by how well Seaman was coached and how good their #16 and #10 were. 

BWhite gave a huge shoutout to Sam Kimball and our defense, but he named Joey Caragher the BWhite Player of the Match. My was he special tonight for 90 minutes at holding mid. 

But we were gutsy as a team, and we played so hard. To quote Aubrey Evans "That was fun"!

On to Southwest!

STATS:  

First Half:  Saints: Shots 6 (2). Corners. 5 (Gaspo, Sketers, Gonzalez, Whigham and Gabriel). 

Vikings: Shots 1 (1). Corners 0. 

Second Half and OT:

Saints:  Shots: 13 (7). Corners 7 (Wirt 4, Gabriel 2, Wherry)

2:46 OT. Nealy. (Diggs T through Whigham)

Vikings. Shots. 3 (1) Corners. 1. 

From the Topeka Captial Journal

Seaman soccer season ends with loss to Aquinas in OT

Oct 27, 2016 11:01 PM

A couple weeks ago, Seaman soccer was enjoying an undefeated season, and now, it’s over.

After 80 scoreless minutes against Aquinas on Thursday, the Vikings gave up their first postseason goal 7:14 into overtime, ending their year with a 1-0 loss in the Class 5A regional finals.

Devin Diggs crossed to Evan Neely in the middle of the box, and the sophomore midfielder fired in the golden goal to send the Saints to the state quarterfinals.

“We did what we do,” said Aquinas coach Craig Ewing. “Go to the baseline, Curt Whigham dummied the ball, which drew two defenders, and we got a nice finish right inside the top of the box.”

Seaman keeper Chase Anderson handled several shots on goal, and even more corner kicks, throughout regulation, but was unable to get his hands on Neely’s deceptive strike.

Facing perennial powerhouse Aquinas in the second round was a tough draw for the Vikings, who were unbeaten through 14 games and earned the top seed with a 12-1-3 record. Both coaches said an eighth-seeded Saints team (10-5-3) that has played in three straight title games doesn’t bode well for the rest of the 5A bracket.

“That’s why I say records don’t mean much if you don’t go further than you need to go,” said second-year Seaman coach Craig Rocastle. “That’s life. I can’t fault what they did tonight.”

The Vikings made huge strides this season with seven seniors on the roster, but were on the defensive side of the pitch more often than not Thursday. Anderson’s goalkeeping, Simone Canu’s defense and the length of senior Tanyon Schafer helped keep the Saints from scoring despite frequent set pieces.

“He’s come a long way,” Rocastle said of Anderson. “He pushed (2015 starter) Kyle King to the maximum last year, and stepped in this year, and he’s been fantastic.”

Meanwhile, Seaman had chances of its own, most notably when Alejandro Cabrera had a goal waved off by an offsides call with 26 minutes left in the second half. Conner Poteete recovered the ball after an Ethan Cowen collision, and fed it ahead to Cabrera. A brief celebration ensued before the Vikings realized the flag was raised.

To add insult to injury, Cowen, a senior captain, limped off the field before returning later in the second half.

“That’s the one time I would’ve loved for the flag to not be up on the play,” Rocastle said. “But he was offsides. I’m glad we finished it cause sometimes we don’t. It’s OK. It happens.”

Cowen had another opportunity stopped when he collided with keeper Samuel Kimball and Matt Ewert in the closing minutes of regulation. The defender was given a yellow card, and the Vikings a free kick, but the 25-yard attempt misfired.

The Saints’ attack only intensified late, and their depth played a factor, especially on the goal by Neely, who hadn’t played a minute in the second half.

“Yeah, we could’ve scored earlier, but it’s hard to score on these guys,” Ewing said. “Finally, at the end we did something right. It was kind of exciting. We had some guys with fresh legs who came off the bench, and that really helped us.”

Aquinas001-1

Seaman000-0

Goals - Aquinas: Neely. Assist - Aquinas: Diggs. Shutout - Aquinas: Kimball.

Regional Semi-Finals

Game 17: at Saint Thomas Aquinas vs Turner (3-0)

First of all, hats off to Turner. They played hard, and they ran a pretty darn good trap that effectively slowed our attack. 

We probably should have finished a few more of our opportunities, but Turner's keeper had a solid match. 

Our first goal was a nice goal that started with Kimball's kick before Curt headed it forward to an on-running Wirt. Brilliant goal. 

We did not allow much either, but #10 and #8 did impress. Both had the ability to score anytime the ball reached the final third. 

BWhite named Sam Sketers and Sam Kimball the BWhite Players of the game. Turner sent two quality forwards at us all night, but neither could break Sam down and, not only, did Kimball coordinate well with his defense, but he also showed some nifty footwork in the box. His distribution out on that first goal of the night is something we just don't see too often from a high school keeper. 

Now defensively we were pretty sharp all night, allowing 3 total shots for the match and only one on goal.

Next up #1 seed Topeka Seamen. 

Stats: 

Saint Thomas Aquinas: Shots: 12 (5). Corners: 4 (Wherry, Wirt, Neely, & Whigham)

22:20 Wirt: (Kimball kicks it 50 yards for a Whigham head-flick to an on-running Wirt)

Golden Bears: Shots: 2 (0) Corners: 0

Second Half:

Saints: Shots: 11 (7) Corners: 4 (Wirt 2, Gabriel 2)

12:07 Evans (Curt and Danny run 2-man)

5:59 Davidson (Diggs pushes it forward)

Golden Bears: Shots: 1 (1) Corners: 0

Senior Night

Game 16: At Saint Thomas Aquinas on Senior Night vs. LS North (3-0)

First of all Lisa Stoecklein and her group really made this evening nice, from the stadium decorations to the video to the treats in the Commons. Well done. The March

And the boys did their part as well, earning a nice 3-0 victory.

Jack Marshall was in uniform tonight and in the starting lineup that also included Colin Kelly at forward. (He did finish up in goal). 

BWhite named a non-senior, who was only eligible for the first half, the BWhite Player of the Game. He had both assists on the first two goals, and those goals got us going as the game was still 0-0 with less than ten left in the first half. 

We did get goals from 2 seniors, but what was even more impressive was the team earning the shutout although Sam Kimball had to have quite a hold in the second half when North hit a drive at him with a few follows as well. He held tight. 

What a great senior class: Gaspo, Evans, Sketers, Wherry, Gonzalez, Geiss, Marshall, Kelly, Kimball, Ewert, and Wherry)Thanks for all the time, the commitment, and the success. Let's finish this off!

Next up: Halloween Party and then Post Season.

Stats:

First Half:  Saints Shots: 6 (3) Corners: 3 (Wirt, Diggs, Arias)

8:23 Gaspo (Evans lifts the direct with Arias chipping back on)

4:18 Wirt (Arias turns to hit the long through ball)

Mustangs: Shots: 4 (3). Corners. 0

Second Half: Saints Shots: 8 (5) Corners: 6 (Wirt 2, Neely, Geiss, Diggs, Gabriel)

9:59 Gabriel (Joey finds Martinek who t's it)

Mustangs: Shots: 4 (3). Corners: 0

Best of Midwest Showcase

Game 15 vs. Olathe East at CBAC in Best of the Midwest (2-3)

It was fantastic being the 810 Varsity's showcase game in the Best of the Midwest. And it was also neat finally playing Olathe East again after so many years. Check out the STA Crowd.

We gave all that came to the game tonight a very entertaining match that basically ended with only six seconds left 3-2. 

We continue to give up goals that you would think were almost impossible to give up. We countered that by creating a couple of great goals, the second that evened the score early in the second half.

Overall, we were pleased with how hard and how well we played.  So many guys stood out with very, very good games against unbeaten Olathe East. Aubrey Evans, Sam Sketers, and Evan Neely were off the charts. Ricardo was quite good. BWhite, however, named senior center midfielder, Danny Gabriel, BWhite Player of the Match. 

He scored the first goal, beautifully threaded the assist to tie the score, just missed another, and we all thought stood out as the best player on the pitch tonight. 

Statistically we won the second half, and they won the first. The match probably should have gone to OT, but it did not. We had agreed only to play 5 minute OT's, so who knows? The boys were really playing well. 

What we need to take away from this match is quite a bit: 1) what a privilege to get to play in the event against Olathe East 2) the need to do a much better job clearing that first ball into the box on kicks and then being first to the second ball 3) how not to commit so many dumb fouls at inappropriate times and inappropriate positions on the field 4) how hard we played and 5) how well we play when we string 3-4 passes together and then go. 6) how our schedule will pay off during postseason. 

We do a senior night Tuesday with the opportunity to honor some very special guys. And after that, we head to the most important part of the season: post season where the gauntlet we have been through will pay massive dividends. We are almost around that Monopoly board, GO!

STATS:

First Half: Shots:  1 (1) Corners: 1 (Wirt)

17:10 Gabriel (Caragher finds him through Gaspo)

Hawks: Shots: 9 (6) Corners: 1

38:09 Stone (Long deadball bounces in the box and over keeper's head)

17:35 Stone (3rd touch shot)

Second Half: 

Saints:  Shots: 7 (4)  Corners: 2 (Diggs, Caragher)

39:37 Gonzalez (Gabriel threads a through ball)

Hawks: Shots:  4 (1) Corners: 1

:06 Chapman (clear gets to the ground in the box)

Game 14: BV West

13 October at STA vs. BV West (1-2)

We knew it would be tough tonight, coming off the Rockhurst win, taking on 

 a good BV West team. And it was. The Jags played a very direct game that did get them into the front third quite a bit. They did not have a lot of shots, but they made a couple of them count. On both goals we allowed too much space, allowing them to get pretty good shots off. We just have to do a better job of taking away that central space as we stab way too much. 

But losing the match might not have been our worst loss of the game as we may very well have lost Sam Kimball for the season and Whigham for awhile. Sam got flatten on a ball into the scrum, and his knee did not look great at the end of the match. Sam has been having such a great year in goal that this injury would be would be a tough one for us.

Curt Whigham broke his nose so he will be out Saturday, and he will have to finish the season in a mask. This game just did not go as we had hoped.

We did generate some opportunities, but it is not easy scoring goals.  We just missed on a couple more set pieces and off a couple of nice baseline attacks. I did like our effort. 

BWhite named Aubrey Evans as the BWhite Player of the Match. He had an excellent game at centerback.

And as we know things will not get any easier as we have Olathe East in two days, Lee Summit North in 5 days. And then the final season. 

STATS:

Saints: Shots: 5 (3) Corners: 1 (Diggs)

31:44 Sketers (Neely lofts the long direct kick)

Jags: Shots: 7 (4) Corners: 2

23:09 Sherwood (corner kick never really ends as they keep pushing it forward before the shot to the back post)


Second Half: Saints: Shots: 6 (3) Corners: 3 (Wirt 2, Wherry)

Jags: Shots: 3 (3) Corners: 1

3:43 Spraetz (dribbles into the center of the 18 without us pressuring)