It’s win-or-go-home time for state soccer, as districts are set to begin for large-school teams and state playoff brackets are set for small-school teams.
With that said, let’s go ahead and jinx some teams by cranking out our latest Boys’ Soccer Power Rankings.
AUG. 26 SOCCER POWER RANKINGS
SEPT. 9 SOCCER POWER RANKINGS
SEPT. 23 SOCCER POWER RANKINGS
OCT. 7 SOCCER POWER RANKINGS
As with all of our other power rankings, these are based on dominance by Class, not head-to-head. It's the "pound for pound" best teams in the Ozarks.
Just because a team is ranked in the Top 5 doesn’t necessarily mean they’d beat a team ranked 8-through-10.
Overall record, Class level and previous ranking are in parenthesis.
1. Nixa (21-1, C4, PR: 2) – Still no state ranking in Class 4, but the Eagles have done all they can to earn this top spot. Since our last rankings on Oct. 7, Nixa has beaten Glendale 3-2 and Carthage 1-0. Glendale is the only team to beat Nixa this season. Carthage’s quickness on defense and possession-style attack on offense gave Nixa problems in that Oct. 13 meeting, so that will be something for the Eagles to work on going forward. Nixa’s in a tough district, with an opening semifinal match against host Joplin, then a finals match with either a red-hot Kickapoo team or rival Ozark.
ATHLETE OF THE WEEK: NIXA'S JOEY CLEM
2. Springfield Catholic (16-8, C2, PR: 2) – Add another district title to an already stacked Fightin’ Irish Soccer trophy case. Catholic defeated Fair Grove 4-0 in the Class 2, District 10 finals last week. It marked Catholic’s eighth straight district title. The Irish have also made it to state the past seven years, but getting there again in 2015 won’t be easy. Catholic hosts Monett in a sectional matchup on Tuesday. The Irish beat Monett in the regular season meeting, 1-0. The winner of Catholic-Monett likely draws No. 2-ranked Southern Boone in the quarterfinals.
3. Carthage (16-8, C3, PR: 1) – Carthage has gone 2-3 since our last rankings, with the losses coming to 1-0 to Nixa, 3-1 to Kickapoo and 5-1 to a sub-.500 Class 4 team in Vianney. Carthage will hope for a fresh start in the Class 3, District 12 tournament this week. The Tigers are the top seed and beat Neosho 2-0 and Webb City 4-0 in the regular season. In a recent Oct. 14 meeting with Carl Junction, though, Carthage needed a late goal to beat the Bulldogs 4-3. Carthage never trailed in the match, but Carl Junction battled back from a 3-1 deficit to tie it, 3-3, with eight minutes remaining. That may have been a wake-up call for the Tigers heading into the postseason.
4. Glendale (15-8, C3, PR: 5) – After taking one-goal losses to Nixa (3-2 on Oct. 8) and Vianney (3-2 on Oct. 10), the Falcons wrapped up the regular season with four consecutive blowout victories. Glendale’s the heavy favorite to advance from its district, where a rematch with Carthage would loom in the sectional round. Eight losses for the Falcons this season, but six of those have come by one goal. This team is a handful of plays away from being around the 20-win mark.
5. Monett (19-4, C2, PR: 5) – If there was a Rookie of the Year award for SWMO Soccer, Monett freshman Jason Puente would probably win it unanimously. The Cubs freshman scored his 40th and 41st goals of the season last week in a district finals match versus College Heights Christian, helping Monett win its fourth straight district title. His second goal was a thing of beauty and something very few high schoolers, regardless of grade, can pull off. In 2012, 2013 and 2014, Monett’s season ended in the sectional round against Catholic. Will the fourth time be the charm for the Cubs?
6. Laquey (16-4, C1, PR: 7) – Laquey won its third straight district title in memorable fashion last week, getting a double-OT goal from Wesley Cantrell to beat Greenwood 3-2 in the Class 1 District 5 finals. Greenwood had tied the match, 2-2, with 21 minutes remaining in regulation. The Hornets also earned a quality 3-1 win over Crocker (16-6 overall) heading into districts last week. Laquey draws a tough matchup in the Class 1 quarterfinals, hosting No. 2-ranked Sacred Heart on Halloween. Sacred Heart has clobbered a lot of Class 1 competition this season. For what it’s worth, the Gremlins beat Greenwood 5-0 in the Kickapoo Shootout in late September.
7. Kickapoo (17-5-1, C4, PR: Unranked) – Don’t hand that district title to Nixa just yet. Kickapoo looks to have found its form at the right time, as the Chiefs have played consistently well in the month of October. The Chiefs beat Waynesville 7-0, Rolla 2-0 and Carthage 3-1 over the past two and a half weeks. They also held their own in matchups against premier in-state competition, playing Class 4 No. 2 ranked Christian Brothers College to a 2-0 loss and No. 3 ranked Chaminade to a 4-3 overtime loss in neutral-site games earlier in the month. Ozark and Nixa may have won the regular season meetings, but Kickapoo’s playing well enough right now to win that district.
8. CHC (18-8, C2, PR: 6) – The Cougars weren’t quite ready to contend with Monett and Catholic in the upper-echelon of local Class 2, but 18 wins is still a really good season. Monett downed CHC 4-1 in the Class 2, District 12 finals last week. In two meetings this season, Monett beat CHC by a combined margin of 7-2. With goalkeeper Brendyn Taylor and leading scorer Dylan Zarrabi back next year, CHC should contend for 15-20 wins again in 2016.
9. Rolla (13-11, C3, PR: 9) – Almost every game Rolla plays is a close one. Of Rolla’s 25 games thus far, 16 have been decided by one goal or less, including a 1-1 tie against Parkway South. Three of Rolla’s 25 games have had a two-goal margin. Rolla’s notable games since our Oct. 7 rankings include: a 3-0 loss to MICDS, a 2-0 loss to Kickapoo and a 1-0 loss to College Heights Christian. Rolla will have to go through Camdenton and likely Helias Catholic to earn a spot in the Class 3 state playoffs.
10. Ozark (16-7, C4, PR: 9) – A 2-0 loss to Park Hill and 5-0 loss to Lee’s Summit drop the Tigers a spot from out previous rankings. Ozark also beat Joplin 3-0, Republic 5-2, West Plains 4-0 and Waynesville 7-2 since our last rankings. Ozark, having beaten Kickapoo 1-0 and losing to Nixa 2-0 in the regular season, turns its sights on the most competitive SWMO-area district tournament.
Knocking on the door: Dixon (C1, 15-7), Crocker (C1, 15-7), Carl Junction (15-8-1)
