Top-ranked Saxony Lutheran soccer team falls in district final in 2 OT

FESTUS, Mo. -- The problem with boxing is it takes just one well-timed, well-placed punch to score a knockout in a battle of Class 1 heavyweights.

Unfortunately for the Saxony Lutheran girls soccer team, it was St. Pius X delivering the fatal blow.

Midway through the second overtime of Tuesday's Class 1 District 1 championship game, the Lancers' Alex Ottoline received a crossing pass from teammate Caroline Basler just left of the goal and blasted a shot that ricocheted off a Saxony defender and into the net, giving St. Pius X (20-3) a thrilling 1-0 victory.

"I knew [Basler] was gonna hit it, she always hits it in [toward the goal]," Ottoline said, explaining how the winning goal transpired. "It barely got past [the defense]. I just faked it, and shot it in."

It was a thrilling finish to a game that saw the state's top two ranked teams in Class 1 battle back and forth for more than 100 minutes, each team probing the other team's defense but finding few open paths to the net. Each offensive thrust was well defended, each punch countered.

The ball ricochets off the leg of Saxony Lutheran's Ali Galemmo to get past goal keeper Abby Goeckeler during the Crusaders' 1-0 double overtime loss to St. Pious X in the class 1 district 1 championship game Tuesday, May 14, at St. Pious X High School in Festus, Mo. (ADAM VOGLER)

And when all was said and done, it was the defending Class 1 state champions moving on to next week's sectional and the young Crusaders sent home with only their second loss of the season.

"It was lots of fun," a misty-eyed Saxony senior Lauren Hecht said after the game, looking back on the best season in the school's short history. "I think they have really good potential for next year -- the next three years, actually. It was fun to be a part of."

Still, the sting of Tuesday's loss will linger with the Crusaders for a long time. Neither team had an overabundance of scoring chances, although Saxony (20-2) will lament the few that slipped through their grasp.

"I thought we played a great game," Saxony coach Ryan Schweain said. "We left everything out there. We had a handful of golden opportunities: Crossbar, post, a couple feet from the line ... we just couldn't get it through."

After spending the first 40 minutes defending St. Pius' attacking offense, Saxony opened the second half with some offensive firepower of its own. Four minutes in, junior forward Maci Daniel made a nice cross from the right side, but neither Brianna Mueller nor Ashlynn Collier could get a foot on the pass. Fifteen minutes into the half, freshman Ali Galemmo's free kick from 30 yards out hit the crossbar after Pius goalkeeper Holly Magre got a fingertip on the ball. The rebound came out to Raegan Wieser, but her point-blank shot was blocked by a Pius defender.

Saxony Lutheran's Courtney Bergman walks back to the bench after the Crusaders' 1-0 double overtime loss to St. Pious X in the class 1 district 1 championship game Tuesday, May 14, at St. Pious X High School in Festus, Mo. (ADAM VOGLER)

Five minutes later, Magre made a diving save on Collier's blast from the left wing, and a shot off the rebound went high. A minute later, Maci Daniel ran down a free kick by Logan Welker, but her shot hit the crossbar.

In the first overtime, Collier nudged a ball from Mueller into the net but she was whistled for offsides.

The best opportunity came early in the second overtime when Saxony freshman Tess Daniel broke free down the left sideline, pushing the ball ahead and beating her defender at the midfield mark. It was Daniel that scored the winning goal -- in overtime -- in a regular-season game between these two teams last week, a 2-0 Crusaders win on their home field.

Daniel streaked in on the goal and tried to push a shot into the far corner, but her effort went just wide.

"I was hoping for a repeat," Schweain said.

Saxony Lutheran’s Tess Daniel, left, Logan Meyr and Ali Galemmo listen to coach Ryan Schweain after the Crusaders’ 1-0 double-overtime loss to St. Pius X.

It didn't happen.

"I guess I was just nervous because, I mean, it would determine a lot," Daniel said after the game. "I don't really know what happened, or what was running through my head at the time."

Instead, the Lancers, breathing new life, continued to push forward. Saxony defended consecutive corner kicks well, forcing St. Pius into a throw-in on the right side. The ball was taken down the side, then passed inside to Basler, who found Ottoline on the left side.

Just that quickly, the game -- and the Crusaders' season -- was over.

"They played the ball across, and it was an unlucky ricochet off one of my players," Saxony goalkeeper Abby Goeckeler said.

"They put pressure on us, and we didn't put enough pressure on them, and that hurt us," Hecht said.

Said senior midfielder Kristy Winter, "They got in their shot, and they had a good one."