ST. CHARLES – SLUH goalkeeper Cole Chambers would have gladly accepted a golden goal victory, but when the Class 4 state championship game was deadlocked in overtime, he was secretly hoping for something else.
“I wanted to go to (penalty kicks) real bad,” Chambers said. “I love PKs. The environment around it is amazing. I just thrive on it.”
Chambers made two brilliant, diving saves in the penalty kick stage to help propel SLUH to an improbable Missouri State High School Activities Association Class 4 boys soccer championship with a 1-0 (3-2 PKs) victory over De Smet Saturday at Lindenwood University.
SLUH (18-6-3), which earned shutouts in both the semifinal and championship games, captured its fourth MSHSAA soccer state title and first since 2003.
“Not to concede a goal this weekend is a pretty special feat,” SLUH coach Bob O’Connell said.
Chambers came close to not conceding a goal during the PK session either. Shooting at the goal nearest the SLUH student section, De Smet senior Landon Weber led off and rocketed a shot that Chambers deflected, but it still found the net behind him.
“I got my whole body behind it and somehow it went in,” Chambers said.
De Smet senior Jack Saladin was not as fortunate. His blast seemed destined for the top left corner, but Chambers executed a Superman dive to his right and batted it away.
“I said, ‘Alright, I’m going this way, and I’ve got to get a hand to it,’” Chambers said. “It’s instinct. I feel it and I go. When my instinct is right, it turns out great.”
After De Smet senior Braden Klein scored, Chambers dove to his left once more to stuff a low shot from junior Gavin Weber. Needing to score to prolong the PK session, De Smet’s final shooter, senior Sean Sossou, missed the target and a SLUH celebration ensued.
That celebration seemed improbable based on recent history. De Smet (21-4-1) won both meetings with SLUH in the regular season by an aggregate score of 6-0. In the state semifinal on Friday, the Spartans dismantled three-time defending champion Rockhurst 3-1 in a game that was not as close as the score indicated.
“With De Smet and Rockhurst playing each other, they probably thought that was the championship game,” junior Carson Hall said. “That put a chip on our shoulder.”
Led by defenders Hall and senior Nick Hammond, the SLUH four back system denied through balls, turned aside crosses and took away time and space. Both Hall and Hammond made tremendous slide tackles to thwart De Smet scoring chances in the first half.
“Communication and discipline were big for us,” Hammond said. “The center backs were telling the midfielders to pick up runners, and even when we got tired, we continued to defend and play the game we know how to play.”
And SLUH was not simply playing a game of kick away.
In the second half, a slick pass by SLUH junior Andrew Wolf set up sophomore Gabe Khazen with a shot that sailed inches over the crossbar; a low shot by sophomore Javier Vigil required a diving stop by De Smet keeper Jackson Keyes; and De Smet senior Dominic Nicoletti made an outstanding slide tackle to prevent another Khazen scoring opportunity.
“We knew this would be a challenge. We tried to manage the game in chunks of 15 or 20 minutes and I thought it worked,” O’Connell said. “Clearly they had chances. We had chances at times as well.”
De Smet’s chances increased as the game went on, and in the first overtime, the Spartans were determined to leave nothing to chance.
With a patient approach, the Spartans possessed the ball, moved it around and then pounced. Sossou barely missed the frame streaking down the left side, a looping shot by Landon Weber grazed the crossbar and landed on top of the net, and a 20-yard, straight away, free kick from Gavin Weber sailed inches over the bar.
“The first overtime, you could tell the momentum had shifted. We had a big dip in communication and their midfielders were able to make runs up top and get us going in circles like they did to Rockhurst,” Hammond said.
He added, “Their best chances were when we fouled them and that’s just our own fatigue, both mental and physical. Once we got our minds right we were able to hang with them again.”
In the second overtime, SLUH took a breath, regained its defensive shape and became a wall of impenetrability. Blocks by Hall, junior Andrew Chalmers and freshman William Journagan denied shots from dangerous areas, and when the game reached penalty kicks, the SLUH bench erupted in celebration while De Smet slowly walked back to its sideline.
“I was happy with a lot of parts of what we did. I didn’t see the frustration grow that happens so often with a lot of teams,” De Smet coach Josh Klein said. “SLUH did a great job defending – they were tough to get through. You can’t say we didn’t have some chances. I know it’s going to keep some guys up for many, many nights saying, ‘If I would have just touched it this way or that way.’”
And the magic touch in PKs came from Chambers, a high-level baseball player who returned to play baseball and soccer for his high school after a year playing soccer at STL City Academy.
“We have so much confidence in Cole, I knew he would stop at least one,” O’Connell said.
Feeding off the energy of the SLUH student section, Chambers let his instincts take over and allowed only two goals in five attempts.
“Our students knew we were the underdog, and they showed out. All these different chants. I loved being in this environment, it made us fight even harder, defend even harder, attack even harder,” Chambers said.
And while Chambers was denying PK shots, Andrew Wolf, John Hasemeier and Henry Sanders were burying them.
“It’s really incredible,” Hammond said while clutching the championship medal around his neck. “Nobody thought this team would be able to do much. Everybody doubted us. This is something that I’m going cherish forever.”
Photo gallery at: https://benvessa.smugmug.com/Boys-Soccer/Boys-Soccer-2024/Class-4-championship-SLUH-vs-De-Smet-10-23-24