(for The Examiner, Independence, MO)
ST. CHARLES – The state semifinal round had not been kind to the Van Horn boys soccer team. In their previous two trips to the final four, the Falcons lost by a three-goal margin to the eventual state champion.
“The last time we came (to the semifinal) we got annihilated,” Van Horn coach Jesus Rodriguez said. “We came here to fight.”
A physical Van Horn team fought valiantly Friday, but ultimately lost in penalty kicks to Ladue 1-0 (5-3 PKs) in a Class 3 Missouri State High School Athletics Association semifinal Friday at Lindenwood University.
Ladue (22-6) will face Vianney (16-6-4) for the Class 3 state title at 3:30 Saturday at Lindenwood’s Hunter Stadium. Van Horn (20-5) will face Borgia (17-8) at 10 a.m. in the third-place game.
It is a third-place game that holds significance for Rodriguez, whose Falcons placed fourth in 2021 and tied for third in 2018.
“We haven’t won at this stage yet. We tied one and lost four. I’m tired of that. We have to pioneer the young guys and show them that we can win a game here. This is our third trip and I really hope we don’t leave here without a win,” Rodriguez said.
Van Horn was the better team in the opening 20 minutes Friday. A rocket off the foot of Nahum Manzanaras-Giron off a slick feed from Diego Escutia required a sharp save from Ladue goalkeeper Seaton Thompson. A back heel pass from Escutia sent Izac Santos in on a scoring chance as the Falcons played with speed, rhythm and confidence.
“They took it to us,” Ladue coach David Aronberg said. “It took us about 20 minutes to get into the game.”
Van Horn appeared to score when an over-the-top pass from Escutia eluded the high kick of a Ladue defender and Santos buried it into the net, but he was deemed to be offsides.
“I thought we scored a legitimate goal when the center back missed the ball and they said that we were offsides. I don’t know if he was, it looked close to me. I’ll have to check that film,” Rodriguez said.
Ladue increased its energy and physicality level to match Van Horn and produced a glorious scoring chance late in the half when Jose Sanchez smashed a 21-yard shot that required a full-extension, diving save from Van Horn goalkeeper Kester Phillips.
In the second half, the Van Horn defense, led by junior center back Adrian Flores, did not allow Ladue room to maneuver.
“Everyone on the defense is aggressive. We try to be physical and let the opposing team know that we’re there,” Flores said. “We came here knowing that most of the teams were going to be taller than us, but we’re small and strong.”
That aggression subsided slightly when the ball entered the penalty area, as Flores, sophomore Justyn Alvarez and junior Mlabo Asukulu were tactically and positionally sound while maintaining their physicality.
“In the box, I like to put my hands on their back. It makes them nervous and they feel they’re unable to move. I want them to know we’re not backing down. We’re not waiting for them to come to us, we’re coming to them,” Flores said.
In the final 10 minutes of regulation, glorious scoring chances arose for both teams. On a Ladue free kick, the ball ricocheted to Sanchez whose shot screamed past Phillips but was blocked at the goal line by the left leg of Asukulu.
Three minutes later, Van Horn almost scored when a left-footed blast by Escuita was denied by a diving save from Thompson. It became apparent that a game-winning goal was going to take a special effort.
“I told the kids it might be a random toe poke. It just seemed like a game where it was going to take some kind of blue-collar goal,” Aronberg said.
In overtime, the Van Horn defense continued to block shots while the offense looked for the perfect shot, at times looking too hard.
“We had chances. Sometimes, you just have to shoot the ball instead of dribble and dribble waiting for the right opportunity. It doesn’t have to be completely open, if you shoot it, it might deflect off a leg and go in,” Rodriguez said.
Of Ladue’s six losses, three came in penalty kicks.
“I told my guys at some point in our playoff run it was going to go to PKs,” Aronberg said.
During PKs, Van Horn’s first shooter, Jan Peña Sanchez blasted it into the net, setting up Flores, a captain, to punctuate his outstanding game.
“My thought was just to be there for my team. I wanted to be confident, place it and let it go in. As a leader, you have to show others that you can’t be scared to be in those situations,” Flores said.
Flores scored, but Escutia followed with a shot that sailed over the crossbar, and Ladue went a perfect 5-for-5.
“I’m proud of them. We came here and fought, and (Saturday) will be no different. We came here for a reason, we came here to win,” Rodriguez said.