By Denise Tucker (For the Ozarks Sports Zone)
Another season. Another deep postseason run for the Glendale Falcons.
For the second-straight year and the third time in four years, the Falcons brought home a third-place finish in the Class 3 state tournament, led by a senior class that played in three final fours, won Glendale’s 25th district title (including 10 straight) and 17th conference championship.
“The 2021 group fielded seven players that started since their sophomore season,” said Glendale coach Jeff Rogers, who is four wins from a combined (boys and girls) 1,000. “They were a very competitive group with lots of postseason experience.
“I think with any season we are trying to use regular-season games to prepare for postseason play. Many times, you will play overtime or go to penalty kicks throughout the season and those are valuable learning experiences.”
The Falcons ended the 2021 season with a 26-4 overall record and went 10-0 in the Ozark Conference. Of those 26 wins, 10 were by one goal, including a 2-1, double-overtime victory over Vianney early in the season. In the postseason, Glendale defeated Springfield Catholic 3-2 in the Class 3 District 5 championship by scoring the winning goal in the final 18 seconds. The Falcons edged Neosho 3-2 in the quarterfinals, lost to Ladue Horton Watkins 2-1 in the semifinals and beat Van Horn 3-2 in the third-place match.
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The leaders from that team included Camden and Cayden Meyer, Alex Spence, Haiden Casper, Andrei Balanean, Dylan Roberts, Charlie Raridon, Jesus Martinez, Cole Fowler, Jack Reid and Cooper Buzbee.
• Camden Meyer, goalkeeper – Recorded 8 shutouts, had a .87 goals-against average. Earned All-OC, all-district, all-region and Class 3 All-State first-team honors, as well as multiple keeper-of-the-year awards. Now playing at Drury University. “Camden was our starting keeper since his sophomore season,” Rogers said. “He served as one of our team captains and was a very vocal and technical player.”
• Cayden Meyer, defender – All-State second-team, all-region, all-district and All-OC honoree. Also received Defensive Player of the Year honors. Now playing at Drury University. “He was big for us offensively in the postseason and finished as a defender with 16 goals and 13 assists.”
• Alex Spence, forward – Scored 31 goals and had 18 assists. Earned All-OC, all-district, all-region, all-state first-team and United Soccer Coaches All-Central team honors, as well as multiple Player of the Year accolades. “Alex served as a team captain and was a positive leader for us.”
• Haiden Casper – Scored 20 goals with 11 assists. “Haiden played multiple positions for us and received all-conference and all-district honors.”
• Andrei Balanean, center midfielder – Scored 20 goals, led the team with 21 assists. Was an All-OC, all-district, all-region and all-state second-team selection. “Andrei played in our central midfield as a junior. He will be playing academy soccer out of state his senior year and will not finish his career as a Falcon. Andrei was a great vision player and created a lot of offensive looks.”
• “Dylan Roberts (4 goals, 9 assists, going to Crowder College) and Charlie Raridon played on our back line together since their sophomore season. Both were great defensive players receiving All-OC, all-district and all-region honors, while contributing to our offensive attack.”
• “Jesus Martinez played on the flanks for us and contributed 7 goals and 9 assists.”
• “Cole Fowler, Jack Reid and Cooper Buzbee also contributed not only in goals and assists but also logged many starts and minutes on the field with their classmates.”
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The 2022 Falcons will have some big shoes to fill with the loss of the Class of 2022.
“This is a hard-working and very positive group,” Rogers said. “There are no egos on our roster this year, which is nice from a coaching standpoint. They encourage each other and we will need that every practice and every game as we prepare for postseason.”
• Cole Vincel, goalkeeper – “Cole has waited his turn in running our defense and I am excited to watch him compete this year,” Rogers said. “He will be a positive voice for us and the boys love competing with him.”
• Kynion Mitchell, Ethan Thomas and Elliott Webb, senior defenders – “All three have big-game experience and will be ready for their final season as Falcons.”
• Carson Shaw, senior forward – “Carson has had a great summer and will be an integral part of our attack.”
• Mason St. Clair and Evan Elliott, seniors – “They will also be competing to secure a position in a competitive and changing starting role.”
• Lincoln Wimmer, senior – “Lincoln is returning to finish his senior year after not playing as a junior. He had quality varsity minutes as a sophomore and can play multiple positions for us, so I am glad he will finish out his career on the field with this senior class.”
• Luis Castro-Hernandez, Misha Trimble and Carson Tittsworth, central midfielders – Scored 16 goals with 22 assists between them. “They all have the skill-sets to run our offense.”
Rogers also has a strong group of newcomers who went 19-1 with the junior varsity and will be competing for varsity minutes.
“Jackson Harbaugh, Landon Butler, Cung Nawl, Dylan Spivy, Isaac Chandler, Brandon Martinez, Owen Buzbee and Nathaniel Young have shown well and will be looking to crack into the varsity lineup and make a difference,” Rogers said.
“The players really worked hard this summer on their technical game and they pushed themselves to improve their fitness. A lot of the younger boys have really shown well and we will have kids competing for playing time, which will push all of them.”
Glendale will participate in a jamboree at Kickapoo with Nixa on Aug. 23 before opening the regular season at home against Lebanon on Aug. 30.
“I hope we surprise some teams,” Rogers said. “We lost probably 95 percent of both our offense and defense from last year and return two honorable mention players. Trust me, no one is going to feel sorry for us and we will have to earn every win this season.
“We will play a competitive schedule like we always do and I’m sure there will be some learning lessons along the way, but they are eager for their time in the spotlight and they work hard with great attitudes.”
