Each week, O-Zone will release local girls’ soccer power rankings, based on dominance by Class. These are not meant to be overall head-to-head rankings, but rather a measure of which teams are the best in their respective Classes at the moment.
Recent success and strength of schedule are factored into the rankings.
APRIL 6 POWER RANKINGS
APRIL 13 POWER RANKINGS
Current record, Class and previous ranking are listed in parenthesis.
1. Rolla (10-2-1, C3, PR: 3) – Rolla is sitting pretty after traversing through a strong mid-season schedule. Since April 6, Rolla has gone 6-1 with notable victories over Helias Catholic (8-6 overall, No. 10 Class 3 state poll), Kickapoo (11-3-2 overall, receiving votes in Class 4 state poll), Union (8-5 overall, receiving votes in Class 3 state poll) and Class 4 Hazelwood Central. The lone loss was at fellow Class 3 school Webster Groves (12-1-1 overall, Class 3 No. 6), which is currently No. 6 in STLhighschoolsports.com’s Large-school rankings. Coach Mike Howard said it’s the toughest non-conference schedule a Rolla girls’ team has ever faced. In last night’s 6-0 home win over Waynesville, Bulldogs goalkeeper Katie Hudson recorder her 49th career shutout to become the all-time leader in that department for boys and girls at RHS. She’ll start her college career next year at Lewis & Clark Community College, where she'll follow in the steps of former RHS teammate Nicole Howard. Howard received several national honors at L&C, including JUCO All-American and NSCAA Player of the Year, as she led the nation in goals and assists. She's now playing at Louisiana State University (LSU). Rolla, ranked No. 9 in the latest Class 3 poll, hosts Camdenton on Thursday night then Lebanon on Tuesday, April 26.
2. Ozark (12-1, C4, PR: 2) – The Tigers continue to flex their muscles against COC-Large competition. Ozark has walloped Branson (10-0), Republic (6-0) and Neosho (7-2) in its last three matches. All this offense means the Tigers are rewriting their program record book. Junior Maya Davidson, who had 134 career points as of April 13, will likely finish the 2016 season in the Top 5 of Ozark’s career scoring leaders. Mikayla Putt (109 career points as of April 13), is already in the Top 10 and could join Davidson in the Top 5 before the season is over. One of the biggest local matches of the season comes tomorrow night as Ozark hosts Kickapoo on the Tigers' grass field (varsity-only, 5 p.m.). If Kickapoo wins, the Chiefs would lock up the No. 1 seed for the Class 4 District 10 tournament. With upcoming games against Kickapoo (April 21), Joplin (April 22) and Nixa (April 26), Ozark controls its own district fate.
3. Springfield Catholic (11-4-1, C2, PR: 1) – The Irish a reeling a bit right now, but if you make seven straight Final Fours, you set a pretty high standard for your program. Catholic went 1-2 in its Pool at the Kickapoo Shootout, losing to Class 3 Kearney (1-0) and Class 4 Kirkwood (5-0). Catholic also got a test from Webb City, a 3-1 outcome that was tied 1-all at halftime. The schedule does not ease up in the next few weeks. After playing at Carthage tonight, Catholic faces upcoming games against Kickapoo (April 25), MICDS (April 30), Nixa (May 2), Ozark (May 5), and Carl Junction (May 9). The Irish’s record may only be a few games above .500 come districts/postseason, but they’ll be well prepared for Class 2 competition after facing this upcoming gauntlet.
4. Kickapoo (11-3-2, C4, PR: 4) – It was a mixed bag over the past week for the Chiefs, who hosted the area’s largest annual soccer event April 13-16 with the Kickapoo Shootout. Starting with the good, the Chiefs opened the event by beating Willard 2-0 on April 13, then got a great comeback win (2-1) over Class 4 No. 7 Nerinx Hall on Friday night. Chiefs junior Skylr Houzenga scored two goals in the final 20 minutes. Sandwiched around those outcomes were losses to unranked Class 4 teams in Smith-Cotton (9-2 overall) and Kirkwood (9-3 overall). Win one of those, and it would’ve been enough to validate the Chiefs moving to No. 3 in the rankings this week ahead of Catholic. Kickapoo beat Joplin 4-0 at home Tuesday night and plays at Ozark tomorrow night. The Chiefs also face Catholic at home on Monday, April 25.
5. Nixa (8-4, C4, PR: 6) – Evan Palmer’s 500th career coaching win came in memorable fashion, as the Eagles scored a 1-0 victory over Class 4 No. 6 Jefferson City in the Kickapoo Shootout last Friday. The Eagles got a first-half goal from Alex Johnson (Chloe Cash assist) then made a big defensive stop late in the match to preserve the lead. Nixa also beat Poplar Bluff 1-0 and fell 2-0 to Class 3 No. 1-ranked Rockwood Summit. The Eagles’ defense has been playing better of late. Nixa has recorded four shutouts in its last five matches. On the season, the Eagles have allowed 11 goals in 12 matches and recorded seven shutouts. After beating Republic 3-0 at home last night and honoring Coach Palmer for 500 career wins, Nixa heads to Carl Junction this Friday and faces rival Ozark on Tuesday, April 26.
6. Bolivar (8-2, C2, PR: 7) – Bolivar defeated Marshfield 8-0 in its official Senior Night game on Tuesday, after an April 18 match at Warrensburg was postponed due to weather. After dropping a competitive 2-1 match to Catholic on April 12 and perhaps showing they’ve somewhat narrowed the gap to the Irish, the Liberators posted a 7-0 win against district foe Osage on April 14. It’s looking like we’ll get that Bolivar-Catholic rematch for a district title next month. Bolivar faces a good, late-season non-conference test on Thursday night when it plays at Class 3 Republic.
7. Carl Junction (9-2, C3, PR: 6) – The Bulldogs have to feel they let one get away in Friday’s Kickapoo Shootout pool play loss to Hickman. After Callie Degani’s first-half PK gave the Bulldogs a 1-0 lead, CJ gave up the tying goal late in regulation then lost in OT on a golden goal. Hickman would go on to beat Class 3 No. 7 ranked Incarnate Word Academy 1-0 in double-overtime to win the Pool. On the plus side, despite a 4-1 loss to IWA, Carl Junction beat Glendale 3-2 in OT. The Bulldogs return to action Thursday at Willard, a rematch of sectional meetings from 2014 and 2015.
8. Fair Grove (7-2, C1, PR: 8) – The Eagles, who beat West Plains 1-0 (PKs) on April 14 then lost 2-0 at Class 4 Parkview on Monday, returned to action tonight with a home match against district foe New Covenant. The Warriors are much improved from a winless 2015 campaign and add a wildcard element to a wide-open Class 1 District 6 field. Fair Grove visits Laquey on Tuesday. Entering tonight, Laquey was one of just two teams to beat Fair Grove so far this season.
Knocking on the door: Crocker (6-6-1, C1), Dixon (Complete record N/A, C1), Camdenton (8-5-1, C3), Willard (7-5, C3)
