Top-seeded St. Vincent and third-seeded Perryville advanced with dominant shutout victories in the opening round of the Class 2, District 1 girls soccer tournament on May 18 at The Bank of Missouri Soccer Complex in Perryville, while fourth-seeded Lutheran South eliminated Saxony Lutheran to round out the semifinal field.
St. Vincent rolled past eighth-seeded Fredericktown 10-0 in the opening quarterfinal, Lutheran South defeated fifth-seeded Saxony Lutheran 5-1, St. Pius X shut out North County 8-0, and Perryville blanked sixth-seeded Bayless 8-0.
The victories advanced St. Vincent into a semifinal matchup with Lutheran South scheduled for May 20, while Perryville moved on to face second-seeded St. Pius X (Festus). The championship match is set for May 21 at the Perryville complex.
In the tournament opener, St. Vincent had little trouble with Fredericktown, erupting for 10 first-half goals to secure the mercy-rule victory and improve to 17-2 on the season.
Lana Adams led the Lady Indians with 3 goals and 2 assists, while Sloane Wibbenmeyer added 2 goals and an assist. Adrionna Boland contributed a goal and 2 assists, and Emery Amschler finished with a goal and an assist.
Sadie Cissell, Rylee Robinson and Morgan Schnurbusch each scored once,
while Aubrey Emmendorfer added 2 assists and Tessa Staggs recorded an assist. Goalkeeper Chloe House earned the shutout in net.
Despite the lopsided result, St. Vincent coach Cari Barnes said the Lady Indians did not play at the level she expected and stressed the need for improvement heading into a difficult semifinal.
“It’s tough to say after a win, but I don’t think it was our best performance,” Barnes said. “We started a little flatter than I would have liked to have seen us, but there’s room to improve for the rest of the week.”
Barnes pointed to offensive balance as one of the biggest positives after 7 different players found the back of the net.
“That’s a positive for today,” Barnes said. “You had 7 different people finding the back of the net.”
The Lady Indians also benefited from getting extensive playing time throughout the roster.
“Everybody got some minutes today,” Barnes said. “We’re a small group, but it’s brought us closer together, and I think they’re playing well together.”
Barnes said the focus now shifts toward preparing for a tougher stretch later in the week.
“The rest of the week will be tough,” Barnes said. “We need to get a good session in tomorrow and come ready to work.”
In the second game, Saxony Lutheran saw its season come to an end with a 5-1 loss to Lutheran South.
The Crusaders struck first, but Lutheran South answered with 5 consecutive goals to pull away.
Lorelei Yearout made 14 saves in goal for Lutheran South, while Reese Bonastia led the offense with 3 goals. Wyatt Haines added 2 goals, and Brooke Ronshausen contributed 2 assists. Mila Davis, Lily Willis and Bailey Wilson also added assists.
In the late game, Perryville advanced with an 8-0 victory over Bayless, scoring 6 first-half goals before adding 2 more after halftime.
Kaeli Klaus scored 2 goals to pace the Lady Pirates, while Brynn Wibbenmeyer added 2 goals and 2 assists. Emma Blechle scored twice, and Ava Ernst contributed a goal and 2 assists. Lauren Sattler and Alexa Hagan also found the net, while Lillian Cowell recorded the shutout in goal.
Perryville coach Dwayne Hadler credited improved ball movement and stronger play from his outside backs as key reasons for the team’s recent success.
“We moved the ball well,” Hadler said. “The last couple games, our outside backs getting involved in the offense has helped tremendously. The little combination play and give-and-go passes have been exceptional.”
Hadler said the Lady Pirates appear to be peaking at the right time.
“It feels like it’s coming together at the right time of year,” Hadler said.
He also pointed to a well-executed corner kick that helped spark the offense.
“It was a well-placed corner kick, and that’s hard to defend,” Hadler said. “Give credit to Emma for the corner kick.”
Hadler called the victory a total team effort, especially after experimenting with different lineups and positions.
“Truthfully, today was a true team game,” Hadler said. “Everybody played well.”
