MARYLAND HEIGHTS – During its thrilling run to the Class 4 state title last season, the SLUH soccer team had to overcome steep odds and climb out of deep holes.
In the district championship game, the Jr. Bills trailed by two goals with less than 10 minutes to play before rallying to tie and eventually win in PKs. In the state quarterfinal, they trailed by a goal in the second half before earning another come-from-behind victory.
“Last year, we went down a lot, but these kids are resilient, they never stop fighting,” SLUH coach Bob O’Connell said.
Sporting a 15-game unbeaten streak coming into the St. Louis Champions League final on Tuesday, the senior-laden SLUH team had not faced many deficits this season, but that changed when De Smet shocked the Jr. Bills with the opening goal two minutes into the second half.
“That was a tough goal to give up, but it really kickstarted us. It gave us energy and shot us to life,” SLUH senior captain James Barry said.
The energy boost resulted in five unanswered goals, including a goal and two assists from Henry Sanders, as SLUH hoisted the Champions League trophy with a 5-1 victory over De Smet Tuesday at Creve Coeur Soccer Complex in Maryland Heights.
SLUH (17-2-2), which has not lost since a 1-0 setback to Glendale on Sept. 5, defeated De Smet for a third consecutive time, including the Class 4 title game last fall.
The atmosphere at Creve Coeur Soccer Complex was reminiscent of the state title match, with spectators filling the bleachers and crowding along the fenceline, while dueling, rambunctious student sections cheered on their classmates.
“The crowd was electric. It reminded me of last year,” Sanders said.
An evenly played first half resulted in few scoring chances until the final minute, when a brilliant passing play from Barrett Urban to Paddy Byrne to Gabe Khazan produced a shot that sailed inches wide. De Smet countered and earned a free kick from 35 yards away that Gavin Weber almost snuck in the top corner at the buzzer.
“We were pretty positive (at halftime),” O’Connell said. “I thought the first half was good, we had a couple half-chances that I thought we left out there. We just needed to remind them, ‘It will come, you guys are fine.’”
But it was De Smet that found the first goal when an uncharacteristic miscue by SLUH goalkeeper Cole Chambers was cleaned up by De Smet freshman Connor Mess and vacuumed into a vacant net to give the Spartans a 1-0 lead in the 42nd minute.
“Last year we were down 1-0 a lot,” Barry said. “We have a lot of experience playing like that. It felt like it was back to last year.”
Two minutes later, Barry started another tic-tac-toe passing play for the Jr. Bills that resulted in the tying goal. He found a streaking Sanders in the midfield, who delivered a perfect pass for Andrew Wolf to one-touch across to Khazan for a punishing, top-shelf finish.
“I thought (Khazan) played well in the first half and I told him, ‘You’re going to get one,’” O’Connell recalled. “After we conceded the goal, two minutes later he’s on the back end of it. It was a great sequence.”
That sequence began a level of quality from the Jr. Bills that no opponent could have withstood.
In the 55th minute, Sanders delivered a perfectly-placed corner kick to the head of Byrne, who flickered it into the net to give the Jr. Bills a 2-1 lead and a wave of momentum that could not be extinguished.
“I can’t tell you how many times I practiced that same ball – whip it over that first defender and right at the top of the head,” Sanders said.
After contributing to the first two goals, Sanders helped himself to the third. He made a slick move at the top of the box, shifted the ball from his right foot to his left, and drove a rocket into the far corner to increase the lead. Another exquisite corner service by Sanders resulted in a goal from junior Javi Vigil to give SLUH a three-goal cushion.
“I thought his goal to make it 3-1 was special, and his involvement on the other two, he was all over the field and played great for us,” O’Connell said.
For his ability to transfer defense to offense and control the midfield, Barry was chosen for the Virtuoso Award, given to the Most Valuable Player.
“We were missing some of our sharpness in the first half. I certainly didn’t feel like I had my cleanest half, but in the second half we were a lot cleaner, especially in the final third,” Barry said.
And the Jr. Bills response after conceding the first goal is as sharp as it was last year.
“Credit to an older team. Nobody flinched, there was no panic. They have that resilient spirit and it’s good to know that it’s still there,” O’Connell said.
The Champions League tournament allowed SLUH to avenge a season-opening loss to Chaminade during pool play, outlast a powerhouse Ladue team in the semifinal and overwhelm rival De Smet in the title match.
“I loved the competition and playing games that meant more than a normal, regular season game,” Barry said.
SLUH, which has 20 seniors on its roster, is hopeful that the Champions League hardware is the first of many trophies it will hoist skyward in the coming weeks.
“We’re chasing something other than this, and these games help prepare us for that,” O’Connell said. “The crowd was great and playing on this field was special. Those things help us and that’s why we’re happy to be in this event.”
Sanders added, “This is an appetizer for what we want the most, and we’re still hungry.”
For photo galleries of the Champions League final and semifinals, click on this link: https://benvessa.smugmug.com/Boys-Soccer/Boys-Soccer-2025
