How do you replicate school history? Soccer at St. Louis University High has existed since 1973, and before 2024 they had won the state championship three times. Now, they look to get their third state title in three years.

^{2026 SLUH soccer team.  photo | Kathy Chott}

   “We don't really acknowledge the expectations, our goal is still the same and that is that we hope that in the district final we find ourselves as one of the two teams in that game, and we hope we play our best soccer in that game,” said head coach Bob O’Connell.

 Having won both the 2024 and 2025 MSHAA Class 4 Championships, SLUH enters 2026 with a whole new roster and a whole lot more eyes on them as they look to become the third team in Class 4 history (Rockhurst and St. Thomas Aquinas-Mercy are the other two) to win three straight championships.

”This team only has six returners from last season. Our goal is to reflect no sense of pressure among the new guys and keep the same intensity we’ve had the last couple of years,” said senior captain Paddy Byrne.

The Jr. Bills had an unprecedented 20 seniors on the team last season they’re tasked with replacing. Among those seniors they are losing seven starters and most notably Gatorade Missouri Player of the Year Henry Sanders. 

“Last year’s seniors really had a tenacity and sense of relentlessness that we’re gonna have to rely on the newcomers to pick up,” said Byrne.

Last year’s starting XI had three seniors commit to play at the collegiate level: midfielder Andrew Wolf at Quincy University, centerback Connor Niles at Rockhurst University, and Sanders at consensus top-five team in the country St. Louis University.

  “You know, I think the great thing about St. Louis U. High is that there's talented kids everywhere just looking for opportunities. We like the players that we have, the core guys that are returning are more than capable of doing even more than they did last year and I think the team is full of talented kids and I think someone will emerge,” said O’Connell.

Starting goaltender Cole Chambers, who started in both state finals games, is no longer on the team as his sole focus remains on baseball following his commitment to the Oklahoma Sooners. This left an open spot in goal between junior Stephen Williams, who recently transferred from Chaminade, and sophomore Griffin Dunker. As of Wednesday, Williams was deemed ineligible for this upcoming season, giving the starting role to Dunker.

“Unfortunately Stephen didn’t become eligible, but Dunker will be great and we really all just need to focus on building team chemistry,” said senior Luke Schuman.

A back-line with upperclassmen will look to minimize the amount of chances first-year starter Dunker will see. The Jr. Bills return juniors Noah Medina and Will Journagen, who both started on defense last season and are accompanied by newcomers such as senior Kole Schitzmeier. SLUH will have returners Schuman and Byrne manning the midfield as both look to claim a third championship. 

The Jr. Bills striking core will also be led by senior returners Teddy Cotton and Gabe Khazen as both look to step up and fill in Javi Vigil’s contributions after Vigil transferred to Lindbergh for his senior season.

Chaminade 

 SLUH soccer's season will kick off this Saturday at 12:30 against Chaminade.This will be one of the Jr. Bills biggest games of the year after the Red Devils defeated SLUH in last year’s season opener. After opening up the game with a lead the Red Devils scored back-to-back goals late to take the lead and the Jr. Bills could never retaliate in the final moments, sending them home crushed with a close loss against a conference rival. 

The Jr. Bills recognize their flaws from last year’s matchup and are prioritizing winning the set pieces and not fading off towards the end of the game, winning every small play. SLUH knows the pressures that come into this game with it following up running of the bills and including the infamous milk chug which will be represented by senior Alex Reh this year. 

“The vibes are really high for Chami, with the energy and students it’ll make a great first game,” said Schuman.