ST. CHARLES – Valley Park senior Will Geary was already a highly decorated soccer player before he captained the Hawks to their first state semifinal appearance this season.
An outstanding basketball and baseball player as well, Geary became the leading point-getter in Missouri high school soccer history earlier this year.
On Wednesday, he put on a show that was incredible by even his own standards.
Geary scored a career-high five goals and assisted on another as Valley Park defeated New Heights Christian Academy 6-3 in a Class 1 Missouri State High School Activities Association semifinal at Lindenwood University’s Hunter Stadium.
Valley Park (24-3) advanced to the Class 1 state title game and will face Missouri Military Academy (17-4) at 6 p.m. Thursday at Hunter Stadium.
The Class 2 state title game will follow at 8 p.m.
Geary joined Whitfield’s Nolan Schulte (2020) as the only players to record five goals in a single game at an MSHSAA championship site, which includes state semifinals, championship games and third place matches in all classes.
His twine-tingling tornado began when he received a pass from senior Clark Menley in the midfield with his back to the goal, and like a post player in basketball, executed a drop step, spin move to escape from his defender. In a footrace with a second defender, he used his 6-foot-3 frame to slide, arrive at the ball with his right foot and bury it in the far corner.
“Footwork from basketball helps with soccer and helps with baseball,” said the three-sport athlete Geary, who will play college baseball at Lindenwood. “Staying active all three seasons helps me keep a competitive nature.”
In the final minute of the first half, senior Amar Al-Yagori slipped a sneaky pass between two defenders and Geary unleashed a wicked one-timer from 13 yards away to give Valley Park a 2-0 lead.
But just four seconds later, New Heights Christian senior Michael Parrigon launched a 62-yard shot from beyond the half line that eluded the leap of Valley Park goalkeeper Steven Ermer and found the upper corner of the net to slice the Cougars deficit to 2-1 at intermission.
It was the kind of stunning moment that could easily linger in a goalkeeper’s mind for the remainder of the game.
“When it happened, I was caught off guard and I got really down on myself, but our sweeper Cooper (Bellchamber) talked to me at halftime and picked me up,” said Ermer who made a pair of outstanding, diving saves to preserve the lead.
Early in the second half, Geary struck again, dribbling 50 yards down the left sideline, driving towards the goal and squeezing a pass underneath the grasp of New Heights goalkeeper Rush Stewart that Menley blasted into the goal from 15 yards away.
“I saw Will doing his thing and it just rolled right at me,” Menley said. “I saw a little opening and tried to put it there. Thankfully, it went in.”
That thing Geary did along the sideline was a common sight for Valley Park coach Tom Probst, who often slides Geary to the sideline when he is being face-guarded by a defender.
When teams mark him really heavy, we have him swap with a winger, and he’s really good along the wing, getting steals and giving crosses. The goal he set up was exactly that,” Probst said.
New Heights Christian Academy (13-13), which earned three fourth-place finishes from 2002-2004 as College Heights Christian, answered moments later when Parrigon stepped to the penalty spot after a Valley Park foul in the box.
Ermer made a brilliant diving stop of his PK attempt, but Parrigon pounced on the rebound before the onrushing Hawks could intervene and drilled it into a vacant corner of the net to slice the deficit to 3-2.
The next 20 minutes belonged to Geary.
In one of the few times he was left unattended in the penalty area, Geary received a cross from senior Joseph Buckman and one-timed it into the top corner to earn his hat trick. Soon after that, a shot by Buckman slipped through the grasp of Stewart and lingered near the post where Geary outraced everyone to the ball to make it 5-2.
“He had a really good warmup, and he was as ready as he could possibly be to play.” Probst said of Geary. “He’s a special player, and he had a special day.”
Parrigon continued his own special day by getting ahead of the Valley Park defense and earning his hat trick in the 63rd minute, but just 13 seconds later, Geary sloughed a defender, found an open area and struck for a fifth time.
“He’s got this long stride, he’s very powerful, and when he plays, he’s so fearless,” Probst said. “A lot of players at this level are afraid to push the play to get in that true, 1-on-1, high percentage, goal-scoring situation and that’s just where he lives.”
Probst substituted Geary out of the game with 13 minutes remaining and allowed the Hawks’ super-scorer to depart to a standing ovation from the Valley Park faithful.
In all, Geary attempted 12 shots, put 10 on goal and raised his area-leading goal total to 58.
“We had a plan of how to stop him and stay on his hip and it worked, but every time we made a mistake, he put it away,” New Heights coach Aaron Dogotch said.
He added, “I had a chance to talk with him before the game and was super-impressed with how he carries himself. He seemed super-humble. You hate losing to jerks, and he wasn’t a jerk. He’s a great, great kid.”
And that character shows on and off the field while Geary proudly wears the captain’s sleeve. At one point, he rose from the bench in the final minutes and suggested a substitute for Probst to insert into the game.
“His leadership is great. Sometimes, you don’t feel like practicing and he’s always there to get the team motivated. He wants the best for the team and that’s an awesome trait to have,” Menley said.
And that team, which is one step away from a state title, will follow Geary’s lead on the sport’s biggest stage Thursday night.
“The message will be what it has been all season. We’re going to be physical, we’re going to win possession and we’re going to be the harder working team,” Probst said. “And we’ll let Will do what he does.”
Photo gallery at: https://benvessa.smugmug.com/Boys-Soccer/Boys-Soccer-2024/Valley-Park-vs-New-Heights-Christian-Academy-Class-1-semi