ST. CHARLES – The trio of Avi Levin, Tommy Edrington VI and Braeden Wallace played for the Ladue soccer team early in their high school careers before deciding to take the academy path.
All three returned to play their senior season for the Ladue high school team.
“We feel a sense of pride for where we live, and for our senior year, we wanted to make history. We wanted to make a legacy,” Levin said.
Levin and Edrington scored goals and Wallace added an assist to help Ladue capture its first boys soccer title in program history with a 3-0 victory over Vianney in the Class 3 Missouri State High School Activities Association championship game Saturday at Lindenwood University’s Hunter Stadium.
Ladue (23-6), which placed second in Class 3 in 2021 and 2023, also received three assists from junior Jose Sanchez and the 11th clean sheet of the season by junior goalkeeper Seaton Thompson.
“This means so much to, not just us, but the whole school,” Wallace said. “Our school is our home and our family, and you want to earn everything you can for them.”
Vianney defeated Ladue 4-1 in the regular season and entered the championship game having cruised to shutout victories over Farmington in the quarterfinal and Borgia in the semifinal.
“I think the fact that they had beaten us may have given them a false sense of security,” Ladue coach David Aronberg said. “Our whole mantra was not to play passive, go out there, attack them right off the whistle and try to get them on their heels.”
Vianney (16-7-4) stood on the gas pedal early in the contest when leading scorer Brody Mayer got loose for a pair of shots that required sharp saves from Thompson, but midway through the first half, the momentum changed dramatically.
A Vianney foul for a high kick resulted in a free kick for Ladue from 40 yards away. Sanchez served a pass along on the ground that senior Ahmad Shebl received, touched to his left, and blasted into the net to give the Rams a 1-0 lead.
“I saw Ahmad make a run and I wanted to get it to him as quickly as possible, so I just hit it on the ground,” Sanchez said. “He had a great finish.”
Shebl scored a goal in four of the Rams six playoff games, including the game-winner in the district championship, state quarterfinal and state championship games.
Ladue took its slim, one-goal lead into halftime, and Aronberg conveyed that the game plan had not changed.
“We said, ‘We’re not going to sit back and defend for 40 minutes. Stay on the front foot,’” Aronberg said.
That front foot started with the head of Shebl, whose redirection after a Ladue steal required an excellent save from Vianney senior goalkeeper Ryker Benz two minutes into the half.
The Ladue pressure continued to wreak havoc and six minutes later, a Wallace steal sent Sanchez into the offensive zone with options, including a streaking Levin.
“Jose is one of the best distributors on our team and I have a really good connection with him,” Levin said. “I saw a little gap in the defense and once I ran through it, I knew he’d find me.”
Sanchez delivered a soft through-ball to Levin, who drilled it into the back of the net. It provided a comfortable two-goal advantage for a Ladue team that was 15-1 when scoring two goals this season.
“Our thing all season was to get to two. That second goal let us breathe a sigh of relief,” Aronberg said.
Vianney found no relief from the pressure Ladue was applying. A 24-yard blast by Levin was tipped over the crossbar by a leaping Benz. A miscommunication on a Vianney corner kick sent Ladue away on a 4-on-1 that Mayer courageously interrupted before it entered the penalty area.
“What we’ve done really well this year is battle through adversity, but after (Ladue) scored first today, we stayed shell-shocked,” Vianney coach Brian Haddock said. “There’s a reason, and it’s that Ladue probably played their best game of the year.”
With 15 minutes remaining, Sanchez intercepted a Vianney pass in the midfield and delivered another dime, this one to Edrington, who found the far corner of the net to give Ladue a 3-0 lead.
“I was doing what came naturally, and with Jose, I don’t even have to say anything, I just give him a look and he knows what to do,” Edrington said.
For Sanchez, who played in Ladue’s 2-1 state championship game loss to East High School (KC) last season, the big game and massive crowd provided the perfect environment to shine.
“With us being here last year, I did not feel a lot of pressure. If anything, I was so excited to play in front of all these people,” Sanchez said. “Games like today are why you play high school soccer – to play in front of thousands of fans and have great feelings and moments to celebrate.”
The trio of Levin, Edrington and Wallace, who were voted team captains prior to the season, certainly would agree.
“For us, we all experienced playing high school before and it’s like a community,” said Levin, who played as a freshman for Ladue before spending two years with SLSG Academy. “Everyone wants to win a title, and seeing Ladue play every year and not win it, I can speak for all the captains that we just wanted to win it for our community, and the work paid off.”
All three cherished the leadership opportunity afforded them this season – one they did not have on their club teams.
“Going into it, I had no hopes of being captain, but I was so happy to find out I was. I loved that responsibility,” Wallace said.
At the awards presentation, Levin, Edrington and Wallace stepped forward to accept the Class 3 championship trophy. Levin gave it a kiss.
“The trophy is great to have, but the relationships you create in moments like this and through the hard times, you can’t get anywhere else. Now I have brothers for life,” Edrington said.
Aronberg added, “The kids who came back from academy, to have this season and see their decision pay off with the ultimate prize, that’s really cool.”
Photo gallery: https://benvessa.smugmug.com/Boys-Soccer/Boys-Soccer-2024/Class-3-championship-Ladue-vs-Vianney-11-23-24