WEBSTER GROVES – Gabe Wright understood the assignment.
Facing a high-powered Clayton offense averaging nearly four goals per game, the Webster Groves senior defender set the tone with a hard tackle in the opening minute.
“That first tackle helped me keep the energy up and I kept playing physical,” Wright said.
Wright led a smothering defensive effort and junior Jake Clifton scored a goal and contributed to two others as Webster Groves defeated Clayton 3-0 Thursday at Webster Groves High.
Webster Groves (3-0) which won the Class 3 state title two years ago, won its first three games in a season for the first time since 2014.
Clayton (3-1) came into the heavyweight matchup after cruising through the Quincy Notre Dame tournament, winning all three games by a combined 11-0 score. Wright knew that slowing down Clayton meant impeding the path of senior Sam Leonard, who scored four goals and added two assists in the August 30-31 event.
“(The coaches) asked me to lock (Leonard) down, and I was locked in the entire game,” Wright said.
In the opening minutes, Leonard and Wright raced for a ball traveling down the right sideline. Wright slid to knock it away and knocked down Leonard in the process, setting the tone for the way he and the Statesmen planned to play.
While Wright bottled up the explosive Leonard, senior Sal Devine hounded Clayton first-team All-State forward Ayowole Adeoye, the Offensive Player-of-the-Year in the Suburban Conference last season.
“Clayton is really tough offensively. They have some firepower up top, so we definitely wanted to get tight to guys and make sure they didn’t have space to turn and run,” Statesmen coach Tim Velten said.
It was only fitting that the Webster Groves defense became the catalyst for the first goal. Senior Colin Lopez intercepted a pass in the midfield and sent a pass ahead to Clifton, who rocketed a left-footed shot into the far corner of the net to open the scoring in the eighth minute.
“We forced a turnover pressing, and it opened up for a through-ball.” Clifton said. “I called for it, good ball, got there and finished my chance. It got the crowd going and got us going.”
The lively Webster Groves student section infused the Statesmen with energy and helped them produce three more glorious chances that required tough saves from Clayton senior goalkeeper Sam Rotskoff.
“This is why high school sports matter. You can’t get this atmosphere anywhere else. You can’t get it out at Soccer Park on the weekends or traveling here, there and everywhere – it’s right here,” Velten said.
Early in the second half, Webster Groves senior Elijah Weathersby stepped in front of an errant Clayton pass and sent a perfectly paced ball into the penalty area where Clifton was fouled trying to retrieve it.
“I knew from the start they were going to be marking me hard, so I was waiting for my moment,” Clifton said. “I saw (the defender) was going to dive in, I poked at it, he hit me and I went down.”
Sophomore Jack Silverman stepped to the PK spot and picked the corner that Rotskoff did not.
The two-goal lead for the Statesmen did not become the most dangerous lead in soccer thanks to the continued physicality and tireless intensity of their defense.
“They got in our face and we didn’t like that,” Clayton coach Brendan Taylor said. “We can have all the – call it firepower, call it talent, call it what you will – but teams are tough enough and physical enough that there are going to be more results like this until we figure out how be tougher and manage that.”
Clifton’s next moment occurred when he used a burst of speed to gain an advantage on his defender and was fouled once again, this time, just outside entry into the 18-yard box. Several Statesmen aligned themselves to take the free kick, and after some confusion, Devine approached the ball.
“We were deciding who was going to take it at first, and then we were kind of rushed,” Devine said. “I looked to my right, saw a little corner and thought ‘This may work.’”
Devine snuck a shot in that “little corner” to produce the third goal for the Statesmen by the third different goal scorer.
Last season, Brendan Crews led Webster Groves with 18 goals and no other player scored more than five. Crews has since graduated, so the Statesmen entered this season searching for another goal scorer. They may have found several.
“We have some attacking power. I think we’re going to see a number of guys step up and that’s exciting and fun,” Velten said.
But in the meantime, the Statesmen will hang their hat on their defense as they look to return to a form that has produced three state semifinal appearances in the previous six seasons.
“We’re just taking it game by game. There’s obviously the goal of conference, districts, playoffs and all that, but really, we’re just taking it step by step,” Clifton said.
Wright added, “Outworking teams is our goal. Bringing more energy than them will help us get where we want to be.”
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