By Kai Raymer
Each week the O-Zone staff ranks the top 10 area girls’ soccer teams based on dominance by Class, aka how they stack up pound-for-pound with the other schools in their respective Class. These are not head-to-head/overall rankings.
Strength of schedule and recent success are also factored into the rankings. Overall record, class and previous ranking are listed in parenthesis.
A lot has happened (update: especially last night!) since our first season rankings on March 29. Several teams in our top 10 have taken multiple losses, albeit against quality opposition.
CLICK FOR MARCH 29 GIRLS SOCCER POWER RANKINGS
1. Catholic (10-2-1, Class 2, PR: 1) – With all due respect to Catholic’s “Never Again” motto, I hope we do see another game this season as good as the one that Catholic and Bolivar put on last night. In a rematch of last season’s 1-0 upset win by Bolivar in the district championship game, Catholic rallied from a late deficit to win 4-3 in overtime. Emma Skornia got the equalizer with less than three minutes remaining in regulation, before Ashley Andrews scored the game-winner in overtime. Afterwards, Catholic’s players posed with last year’s district second-place plaque, so you know the win meant a lot to them. The Irish did suffer losses to Bentonville (defending Arkansas 7A state champs) and Pattonville (Class 4) in the Ozark Tournament last weekend, but Catholic won’t have to worry about playing teams like that the rest of the way. Add in recent wins over the likes of Barstow, Maryville and Glendale (all 2-0), as well as Willard (7-0) and you can see why the Irish came in at No. 2 in the first statewide soccer coaches’ rankings.
Upcoming games: April 19 vs. Carthage, April 24 vs. Kickapoo, April 26 @ Neosho
2. Rolla (6-2-1, Class 3, PR: 2) – Hovering on the fringes of the St. Louis area, the Bulldogs’ schedule always includes teams from the 314. And those teams are typically good. Really good. Rolla played one of those powerhouse squads last Saturday, when it took a 1-0 loss to Class 3 No. 3-ranked Webster Groves. Coach Mike Howard said going toe-to-toe with Webster Groves for 80 minutes is something his team can feel positive about. The result capped a rather wild week for Rolla, which overcame an early deficit to beat Parkview 6-3 at home on April 3, then won a 2-1 (PKs) thriller against Helias Catholic two days later. Last night’s 10-0 drubbing of Hillcrest begins a run of nine games in 14 days for Rolla.
Upcoming games: April 12 @ Union, April 15 @ Hazelwood Central, April 18 @ Waynesville, April 20 @ Camdenton, April 21-22 @ West Plains Tournament, April 25 @ Lebanon, April 27 vs. Joplin
3. Ozark (10-2, Class 4, PR: 3) – After going 0-2 at the Parkway College Showcase March 31-April 1, Ozark got some of its mojo back by winning its own tournament last weekend, with victories against Osage, Pattonville and Bentonville (Ark.). The Tigers then took care of business last night by beating Branson 6-0 at home, behind two goals each by Mikayla Putt and Ashley McCulloch. Ozark’s offense continues to produce at a ridiculous pace – 45 goals in 12 games – but they’ll be tested against some quality local competition in the coming weeks, in what could be previews for district (Kickapoo) and sectional (Nixa) meetings. If the Tigers can begin to score on set pieces again – something they were superb at last year – this group will be very tough to keep off the scoreboard.
Upcoming games: April 13 vs. Republic, April 17 @ Neosho, April 20 @ Kickapoo, April 25 @ Nixa
4. Kickapoo (6-3-2, Class 4, PR: 5) – “Anyone, anywhere” continues to be the motto for Kickapoo soccer, which once again has the best strength of schedule in the area. Kickapoo faced some buzz-saws last weekend in St. Louis and emerged 0-2-1, with losses to Incarnate Word Academy (3-1, Class 3 No. 4), St. Joseph’s (2-1, Class 4 No. 1) and a tie against Rockwood Summit (1-1, Class 3 No. 2). Scoring in all three games against that competition level is a great sign going forward for the Chiefs, who some would suggest I discredited in the first rankings. The Chiefs had only a day to recover from that gauntlet, but responded well with wins over Nixa on Monday (2-0) and Central (3-0) on Tuesday. Freshman Jalyn McClean had both of Kickapoo’s goals against Nixa and is a making a case for area freshman of the year with what she’s contributed to an already deep Chiefs team.
Upcoming games: April 13-15 Kickapoo Shootout, April 17 vs. Hillcrest, April 18 @ Joplin, April 20 vs. Ozark, April 24 @ Springfield Catholic, April 25 @ West Plains
5. Nixa (5-2-1, Class 4, PR: 4) – The Eagles posted what may have been the most impressive win of any local team this season when they beat St. Teresa’s Academy (Class 4 No. 7) 2-0 on April 7. You know about all-state senior Alex Johnson, but it was two new names (Arianna Cobb and Erica Hartley) stepping up with goals against St. Teresa’s to key the Nixa victory. At the Parkway College Showcase event March 31-April 1, Nixa tied Lindberg (0-0) and fell to Cor Jesu Academy (2-0). There’s been some good (6-0 win over Neosho on April 4 behind Alex Johnson’s hat trick) and bad (2-0 loss at Kickapoo) mixed in for the Eagles over the last two weeks, but the Eagles are going to win a lot of games this spring (again) as they chase a fifth straight district title. After winning 6-0 at Joplin last night, Nixa competes in the Kickapoo Shootout this weekend.
Upcoming games: April 13-15 @ Kickapoo Shootout, April 18 @ Republic, April 20 vs. Glendale, April 21 @ Carl Junction, April 25 vs. Ozark
6. Bolivar (8-1, Class 3, PR: 6) – Two takeaways from last night: Bri Halverson is on a different planet than everyone else right now, and the Liberators may make some noise in the Class 3 postseason. Bolivar, thanks to a hat trick by the SLU signee, was two minutes away from a road win over Class 2 No. 2-ranked Catholic. Instead, the Irish got the equalizer and won the match in overtime. The only flaw against Bolivar up to this point has been its strength of schedule, but Bolivar showed it can hang with some of the area’s best last night. I still think the Liberators are the favorites to win their district and I’ll take my chances with a Halverson-led team in sectionals. She already has 27 goals this season, in only nine games.
Upcoming games: April 13 @ Osage, April 17 vs. Warrensburg, April 18 @ Marshfield, April 20 vs. Republic, April 25 vs. Clinton
7. Rogersville (4-5-1, Class 2, PR: 7) – If you like close, competitive games, Rogersville’s the team for you. All ten of Rogersville’s matches so far this season have been decided by two or fewer goals. Look deeper than Rogersville’s current sub-500 record and you’ll see a squad that’s given good competition tough outings. Rogersville’s five losses have come to the likes of Republic (1-0, Class 4), Springfield Catholic (4-2, Class 2 No. 2 ranked), Bolivar (1-0, Class 3), Lebanon (3-2, Class 4) and Southern Boone (2-1 PKs, Class 2 No. 9 ranked). The Wildcats are a couple of bounces/shots away from having about seven or eight wins. Rogersville began this week with wins at Webb City (2-0) and at home over Mountain View-Birch Tree/Liberty. Four different Wildcats scored against Liberty. Lexi Christopher had three assists.
Upcoming games: April 18 @ Aurora, April 19 vs. Hillcrest, April 20 vs. Laquey, April 21-22 @ Branson Tournament, April 25 vs. New Covenant
8. Glendale (4-3-1, Class 3, PR: Unranked) – It didn’t feel right not to have the Baby Blue and Red in our first power rankings of the season. The Falcons join the top 10 this week, on the strength of some recent victories and an overall quality strength of schedule. A 2-2 tie against Class 4 Pattonville at the Parkway College Showcase on April 1 is perhaps Glendale’s best result to date considering Pattonville played Ozark to a 3-2 loss and beat Catholic 1-0. Glendale also losing 5-0 to Ozark and 2-0 to Catholic is a bit perplexing considering the Falcons tied Pattonville, but that’s soccer sometimes. Glendale has a lot of young and new players in prominent roles, and the Falcons may be turning the corner after a rocky start to the season. Glendale recently won 4-1 at Camdenton and 7-2 at West Plains. Sophomore Brooke Briscoe had four goals against West Plains. Norwegian important Roxie Skjervheim even got in on the fun with a goal. The Falcons face stiff tests at this weekend’s Kickapoo Shootout, starting with Jefferson City at 2 p.m. Friday.
Upcoming games: April 14-15 @ Kickapoo Shootout, April 17 @ Lebanon, April 18 vs. Parkview, April 20 @ Nixa, April 25 @ Hillcrest
9. Neosho (7-3, Class 3, PR 8) – At last, Neosho has exorcised its Carl Junction demons. The Wildcats’ 5-0 thrashing of CJ on Monday ended Neosho’s 10-game losing skid in the series. Alicia Cooper and Ashley Talley delivered two goals apiece in the victory. The two teams could meet again in the Class 3 District 12 title game next month. Maybe Neosho isn’t quite ready to hang with the Nixas of the world just yet, as evident by a 6-0 road loss on April 4, but I still think the Wildcats will win a lot of games this season. Neosho had a tough time in the Ozark Tournament last weekend, losing to Springfield Catholic (7-2) and Cedar Hill Northwest (5-1) while beating Osage (9-0), but the Wildcats have responded well so far this week. Neosho’s picked up a pair of conference wins in two days, beating Carl Junction 5-0 on Monday and Republic 2-0 last night. Hosting Ozark next week is a big benchmark game for the program.
Upcoming games: April 17 vs. Ozark, April 21-22 Neosho Tournament April 25 @ Branson
10. Mountain View-Birch Tree/Liberty (4-4-1, Class 1, PR: Unranked) – Liberty cracks the Top 10 this week as our representative for the parity-heavy Class 1 group. The Eagles have recent wins over the likes of Greenwood (6-4), West Plains (3-1) and Branson (2-0), plus a competitive loss to Rogersville (4-2). Considering Greenwood beat New Covenant (2-1 PKs) and was blown out by Branson (5-0), the Eagles are the leaders of Class 1 SWMO group for the moment.
Upcoming games: April 17 vs. West Plains, April 25 @ Aurora
Dropped out: Carl Junction, New Covenant
Knocking on the door: NCA (5-3, Class 1), Greenwood (Class 1), Carl Junction (Class 3), Camdenton (7-3, Class 3)
