Every two weeks, OzarksSportsZone.com will release local boys’ soccer power rankings. Like our other power rankings lists, these rankings will be based on dominance by Class, not head-to-head.
Recent success and strength of schedule are also factored into the rankings.
Overall record and Class are listed in parenthesis.
As you may have seen with the first state rankings of the season, Class 3 is once again our strongest local Class. Three local teams – Rolla, Glendale and Carthage – fill the Top 10. Laquey, a Class 1 team, is the only other local school ranked in the Top 10 across the four Classes in the first state rankings.
Only Helias Catholic stands in the way of an all-Ozarks sectional/quarterfinal pod, and a guaranteed spot for the Ozarks at the Class 3 state final four.
AUG. 29 BOYS SOCCER POWER RANKINGS
1. Glendale (4-2, C3, PR: 5) – The Falcons are dealing with some injuries at the moment, but they picked up a nice win with a 2-1 result at Carthage on a header from Josh Call, who has simply been unstoppable on headers and set plays this season. The Carthage-Glendale series continues to produce exciting games, with the Falcons winning five of eight matchups since 2012 and holding a +8 advantage in goal differential. The recent blemishes on Glendale’s record were a 4-0 loss at Class 4 No. 5 SLUH and a 2-1 loss to O’Fallon (Ill.) in a neutral-site game. An undermanned Glendale team beat Camdenton 1-0 at home last week and visits Joplin for a makeup game tonight. Big week for the Falcons ahead with a chance to have a clear path toward the Ozark Conference title by this time next week.
Upcoming games: Sept. 12 @ Joplin, Sept. 14 vs. Kickapoo, Sept. 19 vs. Rolla, Sept. 21 @ Waynesville, Sept. 22-24 Kickapoo Shootout
2. Kickapoo (6-1, C4, PR: 2) – The Chiefs are kicking their attack into high-gear this season, with an up-tempo and aggressive mentality on offense. Kickapoo’s midfield play is solid as usual, but the Chiefs have bolstered their attack with the addition of speedy underclassmen like Jaxon Riddle, Aidan Bilbao and Deuce Vandaveer up top. The Chiefs have tallied 29 goals over seven matches and scoring has been balanced among the players. Cracking the Class 4 state rankings is tough, but as Nixa showed last year, being ranked isn’t a prerequisite to make the final four.
Upcoming games: Sept. 13 vs. Parkview, Sept. 14 @ Glendale, Sept. 20 @ Hillcrest, Sept. 22-24 Kickapoo Shootout
3. Carthage (5-1, C3, PR: 1) – The Tigers have emerged from a challenging first three weeks with five wins and only one loss. They rallied from a 2-0 halftime deficit to defeat Nixa 3-2 at home last week, thanks to second-half scores by Rudy Gonzalez (2) and Elder Reyes. Carthage visits an Ozark team on Tuesday that has played it to close results the past two years, including a 2-1 OT win by Ozark in Christian County in 2014.
Upcoming games: Sept. 13 @ Ozark, Sept. 15 @ McDonald County, Sept. 16-17 Parkview Tournament, Sept. 20 @ Willard, Sept. 23-24 Kickapoo Shootout
4. Rolla (3-2, C3, PR: 7) – They were our highest ranked team in the first state poll, coming in at No. 7 in Class 3. A 3-1 win over Parkview and losses to Jefferson City (1-0) and Class 3 No. 6-ranked Wentzville Liberty (2-1) highlight the early season resume. Bulldogs coach Mike Howard was encouraged with his team’s showing against Jefferson City, considering the Bulldogs have been hit with injuries to multiple players in their normal lineup. Rolla will have, essentially, a potential Class 3 state tournament preview coming up in the next week and a half with games against Glendale and Catholic.
Upcoming games: Sept. 13 vs. West Plains, Sept. 16-17 Parkway Tournament, Sept. 19 @ Glendale, Sept. 21 @ Helias Catholic, Sept. 23-24 Rolla Invitational'
5. Laquey (6-2, C1, PR: 7) – Graduating seven senior starters would typically mean a rebuilding season the following year for most Class 1 schools, but not the Hornets. Laquey is lighting up the scoreboard against fellow Class 1 competition. The Hornets have scored 25 goals against the likes of Dixon, College Heights Christian, New Covenant and Richland thus far. CHC and NCA are in Laquey’s district, and Dixon or Richland could await in the sectional round, so those results bode well for the future. Junior Tristan Gan has been on a tear, tallying 11 goals in Laquey’s last four games. The Hornets cracked the Top 5 in the first Class 1 state rankings.
Upcoming games: Sept. 15 vs. Willard, Sept. 16 @ Crocker, Sept. 17 Greenwood Classic, Sept. 20 vs. Belle, Sept. 22-24 Frisco League Tournament
6. Nixa (5-2, C4, PR: 4) – Odd season thus far for the Eagles. If not for second-half stumbles, they’re about 80 minutes away from owning wins over Class 4 Kickapoo and Class 3 Carthage and currently sitting at 7-0. If you wanna look at it the other way, they’re also 80 minutes away from losing to the likes of Republic and Monett and currently being 3-4 overall. In the end, it all evens out. Maybe it shows how much Republic has improved? The Eagles still have a very high “floor” as a team and have shown they can beat anyone locally on the right night.
Upcoming games: Sept 13. vs. Webb City, Sept. 14 @ Waynesville, Sept. 20 vs. Ozark, Sept. 23-24 Kickapoo Shootout (Tournament)
7. Monett (4-3-1, C2, PR: 3) – Say this about the Cubs: you get your money’s worth when you watch their high-scoring, back-and-forth games. Monett has losses to Republic (5-4, PKs) Nixa (5-2) and Carthage (6-4), with an overtime win over Carl Junction coming last Tuesday. The defense is clearly still a work in progress. I was surprised to see Catholic receive more votes than Monett in the Class 2 state poll, but we’ll soon know where our two best Class 2 teams stack up when the Cubs host the Irish next Monday.
Upcoming games: Sept. 13 vs. Central, Sept. 15 @ Hillcrest, Sept. 19 vs. Catholic, Sept. 22-24 Willard Classic (Tournament)
8. Springfield Catholic (5-2, C2, PR: 8) – Great, great win for the Irish over the weekend as they defeated Class 2 No. 6-ranked Bishop DuBourg, 3-1, behind a hat trick from Zach Straus. DuBourg comes off a 2015 season in which it played eventual Class 2 runner-up Perryville to a 1-0 loss in the quarterfinals, so that’s an encouraging result (3-1) for the Irish going forward. If the Irish can beat Monett coming up and get through this next stretch of games with only one or two losses, they deserve to be state ranked when the next poll is released.
Upcoming games: Sept. 13 vs. Bolivar, Sept. 16 @ Ozark, Sept. 19 @ Monett, Sept. 20 @ Carl Junction, Sept. 23-24 Kickapoo Shootout (Tournament)
9. Republic (4-1, C3, PR: 10) – Junior Dylan Brown continues to make a name for himself, as he leads the Tigers with 10 goals over five matches. Republic has had recent injuries to offensive stalwarts Julio Quezada and Drew Flippin, but Brown and the rest of the Tigers have picked up the slack. Republic’s an overtime goal away from beating Nixa and being 5-0 overall.
Upcoming games: Sept. 13 vs. Willard, Sept. 15 @ Neosho, Sept. 16 Parkview Tournament Sept. 20 @ Central, Sept. 22 @ Marshfield, Sept. 23-24 Willard Fall Classic (Tournament)
10. College Heights Christian (6-3, C1, PR: 9) – The Cougars have rebounded from that season-opening 4-1 loss to Laquey with some stronger showings in the last two weeks: one-goal wins over Webb City and Carl Junction, an overtime loss to Catholic and a split with Aurora.
Upcoming games: Sept. 13 vs. Cassville, Sept. 15 vs. Greenwood, Sept. 17 Greenwood Classic, Sept. 22 @ New Covenant
Knocking on the door: Ozark (4-2, C4), Willard (3-2-2, C3), Carl Junction (2-5, C3)
