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McCluer North, Trinity Catholic Boys Soccer Teams State Semifinal Bound
BY JIM WIENERS
What does McCluer North Boys Soccer and Trinity Catholic Athletic Director/Head Soccer Coach Vince Drake have in common?
The Year was 1975. In March, 1975 McCluer North won its first and, so far, only state soccer title, the last year the sport was played in the winter and the second consecutive year a Suburban North Conference team won state boys soccer (Normandy, which no longer fields a team and now is in the Suburban East Conference, won the year before). In November, 1975, the first year the sport played in the fall, Drake coached St. Thomas Aquinas to the first of 11 state titles, nine after Aquinas merged with Mercy.
This weekend at the Anheuser-Busch Center, Fenton, McCluer North will be playing their sixth state semifinal game ever but their first since 1987 while Drake will take Trinity Catholic to their third semifinal in the last six years. Friday in a Class Three Semifinal at 6 p.m. McCluer North will take on Rockhurst, who won their third state title last year and has 45 state titles in all sports — most by any Missouri State High School Activities Association member — after winning Boys Swimming last weekend. In a Class One Semifinal at 11 a.m. Trinity, who is looking to win the school’s first state title after the 2003 merger of Aquinas-Mercy and Rosary, will be taking on Kansas City St. Pius, who is in their first ever semifinal.
In another Class Three Semifinal DeSmet, a four-time state champion, will be playing their first semifinal game since 2002 against Glendale, who will be in their first semifinal since 1994 and their third overall, Friday at 8 p.m. In another Class One Semifinal, Friday at 1 p.m. John Burroughs, who was second to Whitfield in Class One State in 2003 and 2006 but defeat Whitfield, 1-0, in the District Three title game, plays first-time semifinalist Springfield Catholic.
Saturday in Class Three the championship game is 7 p.m. while the third-place game is 1 p.m. Also that same day in Class One the championship game is 12 noon while the third-place game is 10 a.m. All games, including the Class Two Semifinals and Finals are this weekend at the A-B Center.
McCluer North (15-12-2) had two goals by Cameron Poindexter in the Nov. 11 Class Three Sectional win over Seckman, 2-1. Last Saturday under windy and frigid conditions a Tyler Clasby goal led the Stars to a 1-0 upset of former seven-time state champion Vianney in the Quarterfinals. Trinity (13-11-2) won the Class One Quarterfinal game over Saxony Lutheran, 2-1, as Joe Pieper and Jordan Stretch scored for the Titans.
DeSmet (17-7-1), a Class Three, District Five Champion with wins over Kirkwood, 4-0 and CBC, 1-0, defeated Chaminade, 1-0 in overtime in the Sectionals, and Francis Howell Central, 3-0. John Burroughs (17-10-1) was a 4-0 Class One Quarterfinal winner over Missouri Military Academy.
