Head Coach Brian Adam lead the boys varsity soccer team to the first state championship in school history. Adam received coach of the year award from Missouri High School Coaches association. The season started off rough by losing their first three games, but that didn’t stay there for long as the boys finished with an overall record of 21 games won, 8 losses and 1 tie. This season was like any other, they experienced the same ups and downs as any other season has.

“We had great leadership this year, and many players improved as the season went on. So many players put in so much extra work, and that is becoming expected from each other now,” Adam said.

The Colts played Parkway West Longhorns on Oct. 25. The game was still tied when the buzzer went off after two 40 minute halves. Even after two rounds of overtime, the game was still tied. Junior Adam Burnett scored the first penalty kick, but the Longhorns scored on their attempt to even the shootout at 1-1. After four more attempts from each side the shoot-out was tied at 4-4. Sophomore Jackson Koerner stepped up to the spot to take the shot. All that was going through his mind at this time was to do the same approach he would for any penalty kick and to not miss. Koerner took the shot and it went past the West goalie. The Longhorns had one last try, but the shot hit the crossbar and the crowd ran out onto the field to celebrate.

The boys were now district champions for the first time since 2012. For Koerner, after the parkway west player missed their shot it was sheer excitement, and the following school day he felt as if he did something really special.
“I just wanted to contribute to the team and wanted to take a shot. It was just a little luck and maybe some magic that made that shot the game winning goal,” Koerner said.

On Oct. 31 the Colts faced Ladue in sectionals. At this point whoever won would continue on the road to state. Back on Sep. 6 during the regular season, the boys had lost to Ladue 4-0, but this did not stop them.

“The games were largely up to the players and I trust them,” Adam said. The Colts won the class 3 sectional game 3-0, which advanced them to the state quarterfinal.

A game that could’ve gone either way. The Colts played Fort Zumwalt South, to fight for the opportunity to move onto the state semifinals. The game had gone into two sudden death overtimes, and with 11 minutes left in the second overtime, junior Will Peacock got the perfect pass from sophomore Luke Shaefer, getting the winning goal to advance the boys.

The week prior to the semifinal game the boys went out to Soccer Park in Fenton which is where the games would now be played at. They went through all the little different things that would be different at these games than a regular game. They walked through the opening ceremony and went over all the other little things that would be different.

“Leading up to that weekend, we focused a lot on communication and creativity on the field. Defensively, we knew what the other team’s plans were going to be so we practiced where we had to be to support each other,” Adam said.

Nov. 10 the boys faced Republic in the semifinal game at Soccer Park. This was the first time the team has made it to the state semifinals since 1986.

With a little over a minute in the game, junior Camden Dunne scored the first goal of the game, getting the boys an early lead. 19 minutes into the first half, senior Matthew Deay scored on an assist by senior Elias Nymander.

“It felt great to help my team score and to assist in such an important game made it special. At the end of the day numbers are numbers and all we cared about was winning the championship and not who scores or assists,” Nymander said.

At the beginning of the second half junior Adam Burnett, who is the top scorer on the team scored the final goal of the game, finalizing the score at 3-0. The defense and Seigel has been a key aspect throughout this whole season, but especially throughout the playoffs. Seigel has a record of 12-6, with 7 shutouts.

“We were a lot stronger offensively this year, so we were able to avoid close games a lot better than last year,” Senior Matthew Deay said.
Nov. 11 the boys competed against Washington Blue Jays for the District 3 state championship title.

Deay scored on a header off of a corner kick by Burnett with 15 minutes left to play in the championship game. The colts took the lead 1-0.
“Scoring the goal was insane, it was almost like a scene out of a movie,” Deay said.

There are many players on the team who stuck out throughout the season, and played a large aspect of why the season ended so well.
“Also our goalie, a right back who shut down the opponent’s best attackers during the playoff run, 2 offensive players who were selected as 2nd team all-state, and the Missouri Co-Offensive Player of the Year. Most teams would hope to be able to say that,” Adam said.
Winning the State Championship is the biggest achievement the boys varsity soccer program has made in school history.

“This team was special. It was the first team I had been on where everyone was friends with each other and enjoyed going to practice to put in work everyday,” Seigel said. With practices 5 days a week, sometimes even more the boys were all friends and made tight bonds that will last for a lifetime.

“There’s a certain amount of luck that any team needs to win championships. I think we’ve had the talent in years past but lots of things worked out for us this year that allowed us to progress further,” Captain Cameron Baird said.

After every game the players take off their jerseys and throw them into the bag without thinking for them to wash, but Adam said it was tough watching the seniors be so reluctant to put them in the laundry bag after the championship.

As it is every year saying goodbye is difficult, when you spend so much time together. The team took preparation steps for next year. 12 seniors will be graduating this year, leaving opening spots on the varsity team for next year. 5 starters will be returning next season and some kids who excelled on the JV team are competing for spots. Some juniors that had key minutes through the year will be returning.
“And then I had to watch Cameron Baird take his captain’s band off for the last time. It still hurts to think about that,” Adam said.