Each week, O-Zone will release the 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.
APRIL 6 RANKINGS CLICK HERE
Recent success and strength of schedule are also factored into the rankings.
Current record, Class and previous ranking are listed in parenthesis.
1. Catholic (10-2-1, C2, PR: 1) – Sometimes the injury bug nibbles on you throughout the season, and other times it just takes a big ol’ chomp out of your team. The latter is the case for the Lady Irish, who are currently down two returning all-state players in Peyton McNabb and Emma Skornia. The early season injuries have forced coach Ben Timson to reshuffle his lineup, pushing young players (Catholic’s predominantly freshmen and sophomores) into bigger roles. It’s going to take those younger players a couple of weeks to get fully acclimated, but the Irish have held the fort since Skornia’s injury on April 1, going 4-2 with the two losses coming to premier teams in Eureka (Class 4 No. 2) and Nebraska power Skutt Catholic (five state championships between 2006-13). In the stat department, sophomore and returning all-stater Brinn Cooper leads Catholic with 11 goals (6 assists) and Kenzie Serrano’s next with three goals. Skornia no doubt leaves a big scoring void as she had already tallied nine goals before her injury. Senior Maggie Temofeew has been a playmaker in the midfield with eight assists, while freshman Kaleia Huttenlocher has added four assists. After beating Bolivar last night, Catholic plays in the Kickapoo Shootout this weekend (April 14-16), competing in a pool that includes Webb City, Kirkwood and Kearney.
2. Ozark (10-1, C4, PR: 2) – Ozark played Class 4’s No. 2 ranked team, Eureka, evenly for a half, but a rough start to the second half saw the Tigers ultimately fall 3-0 and suffer their first loss of the season in Saturday’s Lady Tiger Shootout championship match. As coach Tom Davidson said afterwards, Ozark will try to use the experience of playing one of the state’s elite teams as a positive one going forward. Also at the Lady Tiger Shootout over the weekend, Ozark blasted Rogers (Ark.) 8-0 and beat a good Cedar Hill team 4-0. Cedar Hill beat Class 3 No. 9-ranked Rolla 1-0 in mid-March. The loss to Eureka was not only Ozark’s first of the season, but also the first time the Lady Tigers have been held to fewer than three goals in a match. Ozark has outscored its opposition 68-9 thus far. Freshman Jadyn Easley (19 goals, 8 assists) and junior Maya Davidson (17 goals, 9 assists) have nearly identical stats. If an all-state level player like Mikayla Putt is your third option (9 goals, 7 assists), your offense is pretty stacked. Defensively, Ozark junior Ally Barb (0.45 GAA) has been SWMO’s best goalkeeper thus far in 2016. Ozark smashed Branson 10-0 on Tuesday night, its third 10-0 match of the season, and plays at Republic on Thursday night. After hosting Neosho on April 19, a pivotal district game looms April 21 at Kickapoo.
3. Rolla (7-2-1, C3, PR: 4) – How’s this for a ridiculous stretch of games: Rolla played three consecutive state-ranked teams between April 6-9. The Bulldogs got through that gauntlet 2-1, beating Kickapoo (Class 4 No. 11), Helias Catholic (Class 3 No. 9) and losing to Webster Groves (Class 3 No. 6). The Webster Groves loss, a 2-0 match, marked the first time this season that Rolla’s defense conceded more than one goal. The Bulldogs did that just five times last season. For what it’s worth, Webster Groves played Rockwood Summit – currently ranked No. 1 in Class 3 and the team that eliminated Willard in last year’s state quarterfinals – to a PK loss on April 6. Rolla’s win over Kickapoo on April 7 saw Addy Brow score the game-winner late in the match as the Bulldogs maintained a winning streak over the Chiefs that dates back to 2009. After beating Hilllcrest 10-1 on Tuesday night, Rolla hosted Union (receiving votes in Class 3 poll) tonight and faces Hazelwood at home this Saturday.
4. Kickapoo (8-1-2, C4, PR: 3) – Kickapoo recently ended one losing streak against a rival, but saw another continue. The Chiefs fell 1-0 at home to Rolla on April 7, but just four days later, scored their first win over Nixa in nine matches. Alyson Reinold and Skylr Houzenga tallied early first-half goals against Nixa that helped the Chiefs prevail. Balanced offensive production has carried Kickapoo so far, with Reinold (7 goals, 2 assists), Houzenga (4 goals, 1 assist), Edyn King (6 goals) and Hannah Sweaney (3 goals) leading the way. Kickapoo hosts the 21st annual Kickapoo Shootout this weekend, an event that features 20 teams from across the state. Kickapoo’s pool includes Willard, Sedalia Smith-Cotton (Class 4, 6-1 overall) and Class 4 No. 7-ranked Nerinx Hall.
5. Carl Junction (8-0, C3, PR: 6) – After padding their offensive stats a bit in recent 10-0 wins over Carthage and Monett, the Bulldogs face their toughest test of the season (so far) this weekend at the Kickapoo Shootout. CJ’s pool includes Class 4 Hickman (7-3 overall), Glendale and Class 3 No. 7-ranked Incarnate Word Academy. If CJ manages to win that pool, the Bulldogs deserve state ranking consideration.
6. Nixa (4-3, C4, PR: 5) – Are we seeing a changing of the guard in local Class 3-4 soccer, with the Eagles being bumped out as SWMO’s top team? After a 2-1 loss to Kickapoo on Monday – its first to the Chiefs in nine matches – Nixa could also have a .500 record after this weekend due to a loaded poll at the Kickapoo Shootout. Nixa’s grouped with Rockwood Summit (Class 3 No. 1, 2015 Class 3 runner-up), Jefferson City (Class 4 No. 6, beat Nixa in 2014 quarterfinals) and Poplar Bluff. After the loss to Kickapoo, Nixa coach Evan Palmer said his players have responded well after games against top teams. That’s what the Eagles, who have made the state quarterfinals three consecutive seasons, are facing this weekend.
7. Bolivar (6-2, C2, PR: 7) – Bolivar gave it an admirable effort, but the Liberators ultimately fell 2-1 to Catholic last night in a rematch of last year’s district final. It was also the first game in Bolivar between the two teams since 2014, when the Liberators posted their only win over the Irish in the series’ history. With Catholic potentially missing two all-state players should a district finals rematch occur next month, the Liberators would have to like their chances. The biggest difference between the two right now is overall team speed. Catholic simply out-ran Bolivar to more balls throughout the match. Bolivar’s physicality and aggressiveness, as Irish coach Ben Timson mentioned afterwards, helps alleviate some of that speed differential. Bolivar junior and Saint Louis University commit Brionna Halverson is having an all-state/1 Awards-caliber season. She has 26 goals and 5 assists through eight matches. Sophomore Ally Hargis (3 goals, 3 assists), Paige Martin (3 goals, 3 assists) and junior Grace vanHoornbeek (3 goals, 2 assists) supplement Bolivar’s main scoring. Notice that trio, along with Halverson, will all return next season. Bolivar, which won the Hillcrest Tournament last weekend by outscoring the opposition 20-1 in three games, hosts district opponent Osage on Thursday night, then travels to Warrensburg on Monday.
8. Fair Grove (6-1, C1, PR: 8) – We missed out a big game for district seeding and power rankings purposes yesterday, as Fair Grove’s scheduled home match against Crocker was postponed. That game, whenever it’s played, will likely decide the No. 1 seed for the Class 1, District 6 tournament. Maegan Holland (7 goals, 2 assists) and Haileigh Houston (4 goals, 1 assists) have provided Fair Grove’s main scoring in the early season. Two of freshman’s Shyanne McBroom three goals were late game-winners (vs. Greenwood, vs. Monett). Coming up, Fair Grove faces some big-school competition as it hosts Class 3 West Plains on Thursday, plays at Class 4 Parkview on Monday. The Eagles then play Class 1 district opponent New Covenant at home on April 20.
Knocking on the door: Camdenton (7-4, C3), Willard (6-2, C3), Crocker (5-5-1, C1), Greenwood (1-3, C1)
