This week the St. Louis U. High soccer team took a trip down to Paducah, Kentucky to play in the River Region Rumble, the annual showcase of top teams from Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, and Kentucky. The Jr. Bills took the three hour trek down to Paducah Friday morning to arrive in time for an afternoon showdown against the South Warren Spartans. The following day, the Futbills squared up against the McCracken County High School Mustangs for their second and final match of the trip. SLUH bested the Spartans and Mustangs 1-0 and 4-1, respectively with stellar defense and improvements in offensive strategy.

The Spartans, out of Bowling Green, Ky., have had decent success in the last decade. The Jr. Bills started the game on the front foot with Kevin Cooney and Lucas Hammond both hitting the crossbar within the first 14 minutes of the game. As the game developed it was certain that SLUH was the better team. The defense, led by senior Jack Griffiths-Hill, showed that they were able to contain the Spartans meaning that a victory would only take one goal. But as they entered half-time, this alluded goal had not yet been scored. 

Like the first half, the Bills came out firing in the second as captains Grant Locker and Kevin Cooney both had shots in the first 7 minutes of the second half. The energy was certainly there but the Bills still had a lot of work to do to get a goal. Finally, with 14 minutes left in the half, senior Joseph Oloscoaga dribbled through a few defenders and timed a perfect cross which found Cooney who put the Bills in front with a great header. SLUH had finally pulled through and gotten their goal. Though the Bills did push for more in the final 14 minutes, the main goal was to conserve the lead; and the defense did just that. The final score was 1-0 sending the Bills back to the hotel excited and ready for their second game on Saturday.

“We played really well in Kentucky,” said Olascoaga. “We played tough, and we played with a lot of heart.”

Saturday’s game was against the host team, the McCracken County High School Mustangs. The Mustangs and Jr. Bills both faced the challenge of playing in back to back days. SLUH got on the board early as junior Gabe Hafner won the ball on the left side of the field and flew up the wing playing a beautiful ball into Cooney who then chipped the goalkeeper. That would be the only goal for the Bills in the first half but once again they looked to be the better team. Going into the second half, SLUH looked to strengthen their lead and they would do just that 4 minutes into the second half as senior Luke Rosenberg played a great through ball up to Locker who tucked it away to put the Bills up by 2. The Mustangs then made things interesting as they caught the Bills off guard on a counter-attack. Junior goalkeeper Chris Lewis made the initial save but the ball trickled back to the Mustangs who were able to get one back. Then with 11 minutes to go Locker found senior captain Sam Tieber who finished a one timer to put the Bills up 3-1. A minute later Locker scored another goal, this time from the penalty spot. The Bills beat the Mustangs 4-1 and ended their weekend in Kentucky 2-0. 

“The games in Paducah showed that we need to get the first goal quickly and it will change the way we play,” said Locker. “The first game we weren't able to score until late but in the second game we scored early and were then able to control the game and continue to score. We played well against 2 good teams and got the results we needed.”

After a clean record in Kentucky, SLUH returned home to host the annual Jr. Billiken classic. The tournament spotlights top programs from around the St. Louis area, creating a healthy challenge for SLUH as the district tournament looms ahead. The Jr. Bills’ kicked off the classic against the Fort Zumwalt South Bulldogs, a state champion last year. The offensive push started off slow and was unable to register a goal for the first 22 minutes. However, SLUH got their first real opportunity with 28 minutes to go as Locker intercepted a goal kick and assisted Cooney to give the Jr. Bills the upper hand 1-0. Once the Jr. Bills tasted blood, there was no coming back for the Bulldogs. 2 minutes later, Olascoaga 

        “We’re going to win, there’s no question about it,” said Olascoaga. “This is our tournament and no one’s going to beat us. The team’s excited, we’re in high spirits, and we really want to win.”