When SLUH soccer first took the field two months ago against Marquette, one thing was solidly on their minds: the District final. Now, after commanding wins in their first two District matches, they’re finally there with some pretty significant momentum behind them. Last night’s 5-0 win against Francis Howell North showed the persistence of the Jr. Bills while Saturday’s 13-0 win showed their scoring prowess. Now, the clock is ticking down to their moment of truth. 

The first half of last night’s contest against the Howell North Knights was decidedly in the favor of the Jr. Bills. It was 34 minutes before the Vikings even gained possession in SLUH’s half. Even then, senior Ben Ridgway quickly stole the ball and sent it back to the midfield, who had their way early with the Howell defense. SLUH easily shot passes through the final third of the field all game. 

The initial problem, though, was scoring. SLUH got few opportunities in front of the net early in the first half and even when they did, a plethora of tall Knights kept the ball from the back of the net. 

Senior forward Johnnie Ferrara and junior defenseman Jackson Griffiths-Hill created several opportunities up the right side of the field early, but every centering pass ended up out of bounds. Junior Sam Tieber also got a few chances in open space in the middle of the field, even one that barely trickled past the goal post. Francis Howell put up a respectable fight on defense, showing SLUH’s forwards an unfamiliar look. 

“I was a little bit disappointed with how that game started,” said coach Bob O’Connell. “I didn’t expect them to sit (in the box) as much as they did. I would have trained differently. That being said, we've got great players. They adapted and it just took a little bit longer to get the first goal.” 

That first goal came from Ferrara, who was finally able to capitalize on the effort. At 16:54 in the first half, he fielded a pass right at the spot Tieber had previously missed from and rocketed a beautiful shot that flew past the Howell keeper. The bench erupted as the scoreboard read 1-0. 

Four minutes later, SLUH struck again. This time, senior captain Tyler Van Bree knocked a head ball into the back of the net, bringing the score to 2-0. At this point, with some offensive success as well as a near total ball possession, it began to feel that the game had been sealed, which was just what the team had been hoping for. 

“(Francis Howell) needs to be another statement win,” said Van Bree before the game. “We should have it put away by half time. That's my personal goal and I think that’s the team’s goal as well.”

Van Bree’s hopes came true later in the first half when senior Stephen Saladin scored the third goal of the game off a quick assist from Kevin Cooney. Moments later, that stat line reversed and saw Cooney knock in a shot off an assist from Saladin as both sprinted upfield through the box. 

The two goals put SLUH up by 4 after 40 minutes of play. Saladin had more than just the goal and assist to celebrate, though. This past week, he was invited to play in the 2021 High School All American in Knoxville later this year. Saladin will be representing the West in a match that features some of the top players in the country. 

Even as the temperature quickly dropped last night, the Jr. Bills stayed hot in the second half. Eleven minutes in, junior Lucas Hammond scored from outside the box, adding SLUH’s fifth goal of the night. The Jr. Bills, now playing with a majority of their starters on the bench, held on to the shutout and won 5-0. 

Last night’s win came off a brutal defeat of Hazelwood Central in their first District game last Saturday. From the start, it was clear that the game would not be close. SLUH’s forwards came out swinging, especially Van Bree. He opened the scoring with a head ball into the back of the net early in the first half. In the following minutes, Van Bree went on to score the first three goals of the game, completing his hat trick. 

Before the end of the first half, the Jr. Bills had added 10 more goals, enough to put the game away after just 40 minutes by mercy rule. Junior Kevin Cooney also notched three goals for SLUH against Hazelwood, making it their second hat trick of the game.

Several players, including senior Jacob Lenley, junior Tommy Reh, and junior Davis Ragan, scored their first goals of the season. Altogether, the Jr. Bills’ combined score of 13 goals ties their most of all time.

Van Bree was happy with the start, but he was well aware that the next games would be tougher.

“We need to know that games going forward are not going to be like that. But, yes, I do think it was good. We got everyone in and we got everyone used to the District feeling,” he said. “It was a solid way to start.”

One game that will certainly not be like that will be the District final this Saturday against John Burroughs. O’Connell, though, is confident in his team, regardless of opponent.

“The whole year the goal is to win Districts and I'm excited that these kids put themselves in a situation to get that,” he said. “I don't think (opponent) matters. We will play anybody that’s in our path these next four games and just go out and play.”