ST. LOUIS – St. Louis University High defenders Carson Hall and Andrew Chalmers have a mantra they say to each other on the back line.
“Don’t get comfortable,” Hall said.
For an experienced, lockdown defensive unit, the saying reminds them to remain “switched on” during the entirety of the game.
That saying transcends singular matches for the defending Class 4 state champions and current No. 1 ranked team in the STL area. It also helps the Jr. Bills navigate through a season of being viewed as the favorite instead of the underdog.
“I guess people’s expectations of us are a little different, but at the same time, we hold ourselves to the same standard,” Hall said. “We’re trying not to let the state rankings and the press get to our heads.”
That high standard was evident Saturday as SLUH combined its smothering defense and stellar goalkeeping with a dangerous offensive attack to defeat Ladue 2-0 in a Champions League semifinal at St. Louis University High.
SLUH (16-2-2) will face familiar rival De Smet (12-5-2) in the Champions League final at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at Creve Coeur Soccer Park in Maryland Heights.
The Champions League semifinal featured two outstanding goalkeepers who are also committed to play Division I baseball in the Southeastern Conference. SLUH junior Cole Chambers will play at Oklahoma University and Ladue senior Seaton Thompson will play at the University of Missouri.
Both were sensational early on.
A Ladue corner kick was plucked out of a crowd by a leaping Chambers soon after kickoff. Thompson made diving saves on rockets by SLUH senior Andrew Wolf in the 8th minute and senior James Berry in the 14th.
“Our goalie was amazing. We could have been down 2-0 early. He was one of the players of the game for sure,” Ladue coach David Aronberg said. “Whenever there was a weird bounce or a slight miscue, SLUH was in and Seaton really cleaned it up for us.”
Another outstanding save by Thompson on a half volley in the 37th minute suggested that the game would enter halftime scoreless, but SLUH had one more transition attack to make.
Junior Gabe Khazan corralled a bouncing ball down the left sideline, weaved between two Ladue defenders and sent a pass across the top of the box that senior Barrett Urban found, settled and punished into the corner of the net to give SLUH a 1-0 lead in the 38th minute.
“We kept putting chances on (goal) and I think we knew one was going to fall. We just had to keep our head up and that’s what we did,” Urban said.
Ladue (15-4), the defending Class 3 state champion, emerged from the halftime break hungry for the equalizer. A 16-yard, left-footed blast from junior Jose Sanchez was denied by the quick-reacting Chambers. One minute later, senior Keegan Cody ripped a turning shot that sailed inches wide of the frame.
“I thought in the second half we did a better job of creating chances,” Aronberg said.
And while Ladue was finding its offense, Thompson was still denying SLUH’s. Wolf cut across the middle and blasted a rising shot that Thompson tapped over the crossbar in the 49th minute.
But the next elevated shot was unattainable, even for Thompson.
SLUH junior Paddy Byrne launched a 20-yard missile destined for the upper 90. A leaping Thompson got his left index finger on it, but the perfect combination of speed and trajectory nestled the ball under the crossbar and gave SLUH a 2-0 lead.
Led by Hall and Chalmers, the SLUH defense did not get comfortable over the final 20 minutes and limited the dangerous opportunities that Chambers had to face.
“We’ll always be good in the back and we get great goalkeeping. If we get the goal, I think we’re hard to beat, and tonight we were good enough to get two,” SLUH coach Bob O’Connell said.
Last season, SLUH tied St. Dominic during pool play but watched the Crusaders advance out of the pool and eventually win the inaugural Champions League tournament.
“We fell short last year, so it’s a nice feeling to have topped our group, and now we’re going to the finals,” Hall said.
And unlike last season, SLUH must embrace the role of being the hunted instead of the hunter.
“The challenge is knowing who we are. Just like last year, we’re good enough to beat anybody when we do the things we do well as a group, but we also can lose to anybody and we’re aware of that,” O’Connell said.
He added, “That was a pretty good version of ourselves tonight, and I’m really proud of it.”
For a photo gallery from this game, click this link: https://benvessa.smugmug.com/Boys-Soccer/Boys-Soccer-2025/Ladue-vs-SLUH-Champions-League-Semifinal