FENTON – Connor Niles had never scored a goal in a high school game as he stood over the most important penalty kick of the St. Louis University High season.
Senior captain Henry Sanders, the usual penalty kick taker for the Jr. Bills, missed his last PK attempt during the district title match and guessed that his tendencies had been heavily scouted by Rockhurst, so he and Niles discussed this exact scenario prior to the Class 4 championship game Saturday.
“Connor buries them at practice, so I trusted him fully,” Sanders said. “As soon as the ref called it, I pointed at Connor and he was ready to take it.”
Niles blasted a shot into the top right corner and the impenetrable SLUH defense did the rest in a thrilling 1-0 victory over Rockhurst to capture the Class 4 Missouri High School Activities Association championship Saturday at Soccer Park in Fenton.
SLUH (24-3-2), which won its fifth championship in program history, earned back-to-back soccer state titles for the first time.
“I can’t believe it. You never imagine anything like this because it feels too good. It’s too good to be true,” junior goalkeeper Cole Chambers said.
The awarding of the decisive penalty kick occurred in the 33rd minute and was steeped in controversy.
A SLUH cross originating from near the corner flag was deflected and slowly bounced toward Rockhurst goalkeeper Luke Strueby. The speedy Sanders tried to arrive at the ball before it reached Streuby.
“I saw the goalie coming out and thought, ‘Maybe I can get a little flick on it,’” Sanders said.
Strueby corralled it first, and Sanders bumped into him. As Sanders started his departure from the penalty area, Strueby ran by him with the ball in his hands, extended his forearm and made contact with Sanders, who fell to the turf.
The referee stood a few steps away, immediately stopped play and awarded SLUH a penalty kick.
“I was surprised he gave (the penalty kick),” Sanders said. “But I’ll take it because that was a big play in the game.”
As Sanders and Niles made eye contact to confirm who would take the PK, the Rockhurst bench became apoplectic. At one point, Niles had to step away from the spot and wait until the referee issued a yellow card to the Rockhurst sideline.
“Our keeper collected the ball, the SLUH player ran into him, their kid falls down and they call a PK,” Rockhurst coach Matt Darby said. “I’ve never seen a PK called when the person doesn’t actually have the ball. Our goalie had the ball in his hands.”
Niles had plenty of time to let nerves overtake him between the issuing of the penalty kick and the eventual delivery, but his faith never wavered.
“I was just really confident in myself. I knew my spot because I had gone there about eight times in practice and hadn’t missed yet. I knew I was going there no matter what the goalie did. When it came time, I put it there and that was that,” Niles said.
The Jr. Bills had only one game decided in PKs this season. SLUH coach Bob O’Connell knew that Rockhurst probably had scouted Sanders but had very little intel on Niles, who spent three years playing academy soccer before deciding to play his senior season with his high school team.
“If it would have gone to PKs, Niles would have been our first penalty kick shooter. We said if there was a PK in the flow, you guys decide it. Niles wanted it, Henry said yes, and it was clearly the right decision,” O’Connell said.
It was not the first or last impactful play made by Niles.
Early in the first half, a brilliant passing play by Rockhurst forced Chambers to make a do-or-die decision. He sprinted way out of his crease to try to end the play, but Hawklets’ senior Asande Welongo squirted the ball away from him and sent a shot towards the vacant net.
In a flash, Niles raced 20 yards, appeared out of nowhere and booted it off the goal line.
“They played the through-ball, and I read that Cole might not close it down in time. I thought (Welongo) was going to try to take the touch around him and slot it in the empty net, so I just ran to the net and was able to stop the ball from going in,” Niles said.
Both Rockhurst’s Welongo and SLUH’s Sanders used the massive stage in front of a massive crowd to show their greatness. When Welongo had the ball, he dribbled at a faster speed than those without it and produced multiple, high-danger chances. When Sanders had the ball, he used an arsenal of spinning pirouettes to leave midfielders defending a vapor trail.
“My mentality was, ‘We made it to the last game of the season, I’m going to go out, play as hard as I can and set the tone with my energy,’” Sanders said.
Normally a possession-based team, SLUH often altered its approach and booted it deep, hoping to pin Rockhurst defenders into corners. But any perceived weakness in the undefeated Hawklets could not be found, and defensive mistakes were rare for both teams.
“We knew from day one these were the two best teams in the state. We have two similar styles of play with really competent, hard-working kids – good first touch, possession-style players,” Darby said.
SLUH registered just one shot attempt before the penalty kick was awarded. A 1-0 lead may feel tenuous to some teams, but it has proven to be insurmountable for SLUH. The Jr. Bills’ won six of their last eight playoff games by that identical 1-0 score, including each state semifinal and state championship game over the past two seasons.
“SLUH is battle-tested and we talked in our scouting report about how they are comfortable in 1-0 games,” Darby said. “When you give them a goal on that kind of penalty kick, in this type of game, it’s tough to come back from that. It changes the course of the game.”
He continued, “But we had a full 80 minutes and we didn’t make up for it. We needed to be able to come back from that.”
In the second half, Rockhurst (23-1-1) tried attacking the defensive line of SLUH by air and by ground, by dribbling and by passing, by long blasts and by sneaky shots, and few quality chances emerged.
A cross by junior Michael Gary was redirected inches wide by junior Connor Dierks. Moments later, a free kick produced a collision between senior Calvin Schieffer and Chambers that popped the ball loose near the crease, but SLUH defender Andrew Chalmers alertly booted it out of harm.
“Once we get the first goal, we’re confident in our defense. We’re good at reading the play, and we’re really good at dealing with the flighted balls over the top,” Niles said. “Rockhurst threw everything at us and we executed perfectly. I’m super-proud of my teammates for how they dealt with the pressure.”
Last year, the Jr. Bills were a heavy underdog during the final weekend and emerged as unlikely champions with a 1-0 victory in penalty kicks over powerhouse De Smet. As senior-heavy title defenders this season, SLUH bested another behemoth in the state title game.
“Both years I feel we were underestimated, especially last year when we were a younger team, but we knew what it was like to play in a final and that exposure from last year really helped us,” Sanders said. “Plus, the energy from (the student section) got us going, and that’s a big reason we won the game.”
Sanders was recently awarded Player of the Year in Class 4 Region 1, and Chambers was named Goalkeeper of the Year.
“This year was different,” Chambers said. “Coming into this season, we thought we were the best, and we played like we were the best. We didn’t have an arrogance to us, it was just confidence.”
Since 2021, SLUH joined Rockhurst as perennial, 20-win, powerhouse programs. It seemed unfathomable that Saturday’s championship game marked their first postseason meeting in 18 years.
“SLUH is a great team. They play with possession and they play with class. I’d love to play them every year,” said Darby, who coached Rockhurst to three consecutive state titles from 2021-23 and coached the current senior class to a record of 89-5-3 for their careers.
And for O’Connell, it was the humility shown while being a defending state champion that helped the Jr. Bills earn a repeat title.
“We always say we can beat anybody 1-0, but we could lose to anybody 1-0, and they played that way every day,” O’Connell said. “It’s an honor to be their soccer coach.”
For a photo gallery of this game, click on this link: https://benvessa.smugmug.com/Boys-Soccer/Boys-Soccer-2025/SLUH-vs-Rockhurst-Class-4-championship-11-22-25
