By Kai Raymer (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
Kydon Huttenlocher won’t have to hear the teasing from his older siblings any more.
For the first time since 2014, the Springfield Catholic boys’ soccer team is going to state.
The Irish used a big second half to defeat Central 4-0 at home on Saturday afternoon in the Class 3 state quarterfinals.
Huttenlocher, a senior and co-captain, is relieved to follow the family tradition.
“My brother (Kaueh) and sister (Kaleia) played for Catholic and both of them went to state in their careers. I thought I was going to be the only one not to make it,” Kydon said. “But, we’ve made it. We have a great team and we’re going to see just how far we can go.”
The Irish will play Ladue Horton Watkins at 1:30 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 17 at World Wide Technology Soccer Park in Fenton.
Irish sophomore Luke Butler scored twice in the second half. Another sophomore, Ethan Moellering, added an insurance goal with 14 minutes left to seal the win.
A stellar effort from Central senior goalkeeper Trevor Selley prevented the match from turning into a blowout.
“It seemed like the sun came out in the second half and so did our players,” said Catholic coach Tom Davidson. “We started playing better.”
Catholic’s youth shined on the big stage Saturday. The Irish led 1-0 at halftime after freshman Tyler Holum scored in the 25th minute.
CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS OF THE GAME
As injuries mounted, youth became a necessity for the Irish during the regular season. Davidson said the senior leadership of Kydon Huttenlocher, Erick Fuentes and Rian Mulherin helped Catholic adapt as the season progressed.
“They’ve been incredible leaders. All three of them,” Davidson said. “About six weeks ago, those kids really started stepping up and taking their games to another level. All three have been wonderful kids and great leaders.”
Catholic, which beat Capital City 3-0 on Nov. 1 in the Class 3 District 5 Tournament finals, was playing its first match in 10 days.
“The biggest part of this was just trying to keep our guys fresh,” Davidson said. “Coming out, I did think we were a little flat. But to be able to be up 1-0 at halftime, that was huge.”
Catholic improved to 19-8 overall. The Irish have won nine of their last 10 matches, with the lone loss in that span coming against Class 4 Ozark.
“Toward the end of the season, we had some tough games but we started to get everyone back,” Huttenlocher said. “We realized we had a solid chance – a great chance, actually – to go all the way. Everyone kind of lifted up their heads and realized we can do it.”
Central finishes 10-18 overall after a magical postseason run.
The injury-riddled Bulldogs pulled off three straight upset wins to capture the program’s first district championship since 2019.
