When the soccer season started, Eureka coach Gary Schneider was not sure what to expect. He still isn't completely sure, but the Wildcats appear headed in the right direction.
"When you're dealing with high-school kids, anything's possible," said Schneider, in his second season as head coach. "Some days, we look great and others ... I'm not quite sure what they're trying to do. We just need to be more consistent."
Eureka's ups and downs were illustrated perfectly last week. After handing Oakville its first conference loss Monday, the Wildcats (9-3) dropped a 1-0 Suburban West Conference decision Tuesday at Northwest.
Eureka followed up by winning its bracket of the prestigious Gateway City Classic over the weekend, knocking off Dunbar (Ky.) 3-0, Carthage (Mo.) 1-0 and Glenbrook North (Ill.) 1-0.
Billed as the premier boys soccer event in the country, the 59-team Classic featured top-level teams nationwide. There were five eight-team brackets, three four-team round robins and seven showcase matches.
"It's the first time we'd played (in the Classic), and we really enjoyed it," Schneider said. "The best thing about an event like this is getting to play teams that we normally wouldn't see. The game of soccer is played a little differently in each region of the country, and it's challenging to match up with teams with slightly different approaches.
"I know our kids were pretty excited about being able to win the bracket."
Eureka, which split its games between its home fields and Summit, was led in the tournament by junior goalkeeper Connor Pahl, who is 8-2 with a goals-against average of 0.70. Pahl, who missed most of his sophomore season due to a concussion, has played in all nine of the Wildcats' shutouts this fall.
"Connor was understandably a little timid early, but he's been playing great for us now," Schneider said. "His confidence is back, and he's doing a great job of controlling the penalty area."
Pahl is supported by a veteran backfield that features Jake Jackson and Luke Fornwalt in the middle and Mike Lawrence and Ryan Whanger on the wings. Other key players are versatile Jake Schoch and center midfielder Parker Levy.
"We're just trying to ride this momentum as long as we can," said Schneider, whose team travels to Springfield for the Kickapoo Tournament this weekend.
Other Gateway City Soccer Classic highlights:
• Parkway Central, ranked 10th among STLhighschoolsports.com large schools, won the D bracket with a 2-1 victory over Lockport (Ill.) in the title game.
• Top-ranked DeSmet and Fort Zumwalt West won their round-robin brackets. DeSmet and Zumwalt West each went 2-0-1 in tourney play. Zumwalt West beat out Springfield Catholic for the top spot in its bracket by allowing fewer goals.
• Pattonville was runner-up in the E bracket, losing 4-0 in the championship to Springfield Kickapoo.
• In Showcase games, No. 2 O’Fallon beat St. James Academy (Kan.) 5-3 and Chicago’s Neuqua Valley 3-1, while Chaminade played to a 1-1 draw with national powerhouse Sacramento (Calif.) Jesuit and to a 2-2 draw with Pennsbury (Pa.).
• Cherry Creek (Colo.) knocked off Missouri Class 3 champion Rockhurst 2-1 in overtime to win the A bracket, while Washburn (Kan.) Rural beat Quincy 1-0 in the B division title match. Marquette (Wisc.) took the other round-robin title.
ILLINOIS POSTSEASON KICKS OFF FRIDAY
Believe it or not, the postseason in Illinois is just around the corner, with some first-round Class 1A regional games being played as early as Friday.
The Class 1A tournament will wrap up Oct. 28-29 in Normal while Class 2A and Class 3A play will wrap up Nov. 4-5 at Lincoln-Way North High in Frankfort.
Following is a quick look at regional seeds for area squads:
CLASS 1A
Metro East Lutheran Regional: 1. Alton Marquette, 2. Metro East Lutheran, 3. Greenville, 4. Roxana, 5. Wood River.
Columbia Regional: 1. Columbia, 2. Gibault, 3. Anna-Jonesboro, 4. Freeburg, 5. Valmeyer.
Breese Central Regional: 1. Mater Dei, 2. Carlyle, 3. Breese Central, 4. Wesclin, 5. Lebanon.
CLASS 2A
Mascoutah Regional: 1. Triad, 2. Civic Memorial, 3. Highland, 4. Mascoutah.
Waterloo Regional: 1. Waterloo, 2. Jerseyville, 3. Althoff, 4. Cahokia.
CLASS 3A
Edwardsville Regional: 1. Edwardsvillle, 2. Quincy, 3. Granite City, 4. Alton.
O’Fallon Regional: 1. O’Fallon, 2. Collinsville, 3. Belleville West, 4. Belleville East.
HALL OF FAME BANQUET OCT. 13
Whitfield coach Bill Daues will receive the Jimmy Dunn Memorial High School Coach of the Year award, and seniors Maddie Friedmann (Ursuline), Kailey Utley (Pattonville), Louie Berra (DeSmet) and Jacob Wieser (St. Mary’s) will be honored as Future Stars when the St. Louis Soccer Hall of Fame holds its annual induction dinner Oct. 13 at the Millennium Hotel downtown.
This year’s induction class includes Hank Darabcsek, Eric Delabar, Ed Gettemeier, Tim Putnam, John Sanders, John Schneider, Mark Scott, Marty Todt, Paul Turin and Perry Van Der Beck. Slobo Ilijevski and Nick Tomljenovic will be inducted posthumously.
The Bob Burnes Benchwarmer Award will go to Shirley McBroom and Kevin Byrne of Special Needs Soccer Association, and the Msgr. Jimmy Johnson Award will be presented to Bob Kehoe.
Tickets are $40 and are available by calling Jim Leeker (314-846-0646) or Larry Donovan (314-645-1996).
STATE RANKING
The latest polls from the Missouri State High School Soccer Coaches Association:
• Class 3: 1. Rockhurst, 2. DeSmet, 3. Rock Bridge, 4. Lee’s Summit North, 5. (tie) SLUH and Vianney, 7. Marquette, 8. Chaminade, 9. CBC, 10. Parkway Central; 11. Lee’s Summit West, 12. Francis Howell Central, 13. Nixa, 14. Lee’s Summit, 15. Kickapoo. ... Others receiving votes: Howell, Mehlville, Oakville, Jefferson City, Jackson, Hazelwood West and Oak Park.
• Class 2: 1. Priory, 2. St. Dominic, 3. Trinity, 4. Duchesne, 5. Smithville, 6. Clayton, 7. Harrisonville, 8. Helias, 8. Cape Notre Dame, 10. St. Charles West. ... Others receiving votes: Lutheran South and Borgia.
• Class 1: 1. Springfield Catholic, 2. Southern Boone, 3. John Burroughs, 4. Bayless, 5. St. Pius X, 6. (tie) Whitfield, Kennedy and St. Pius X (KC), 9. Summit Christian, 10. Pembroke Hill. ... Others receiving votes: Sacred Heart, St. Paul Lutheran and Barstow.
