In just its fourth season of play, Cape Girardeau Central High's girls soccer team is on the verge of something truly spectacular.

The Lady Tigers will take on Northwest of House Springs at 8 o'clock tonight in a Class 4A quarterfinal game at the Anheuser-Busch Conference & Sports Centre in Fenton.

Tonight's winner earns a berth in next weekend's Class 4A Final Four -- a place Central has never been but would love dearly to go.

"It's an exciting time for our program," said Central coach Tom Doyle, whose squad gained its first-ever sectional win Tuesday by beating Ritenour 1-0. "The girls have had a super season and it would be great to take the next step. They're ready to go."

Central's girls soccer program might be young, but the Lady Tigers' record doesn't indicate it. Over the past three seasons, Central is an amazing 63-3-4. The last two years, the Lady Tigers had unbeaten regular seasons before losing to the eventual state champion in the sectional round.

This year, the Lady Tigers finally got over the sectional hump. Now they're looking to take the next step -- and they might even be the favorite tonight.

Central, with a glossy 25-1-2 record, is ranked ninth in the state coaches poll while Northwest (18-4) is unranked and for most of the season has not even received honorable-mention status in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch area poll.

But Doyle knows those rankings mean little at this time of the season.

"All the teams are going to be very good or they wouldn't be here," said Doyle. "All the teams left are probably pretty evenly matched. You won't see many three-goal games now. They'll be mostly 1-0 or 2-1 games."

If the Lady Tigers are to advance to the Final Four, they will likely have to contain one of the state's top scorers. In senior Debbie Stark, Northwest boasts the kind of weapon that can turn a game in the Lions' favor singlehandedly.

Stark, who has signed with Southwest Missouri State, has a school-record 43 goals this season and the Southwest Missouri State recruit has amassed 124 goals in her brilliant career.

"She's a good player, quick and with good skills," Doyle said. "We'll definitely try to pay special attention to her."

Stark, who also has 27 assists this year, gets offensive support from junior Mandy Brooks with 14 goals and freshman Mandy Stichling with eight. The Lions have 11 shutouts compiled by three different goalies.

"They're real small but quick and their speed scares me a little bit," said Doyle. "We're not a very quick team. We're more of a bigger team."

Central has been a dominant squad all season, outscoring the opposition 119-16. Leading the offense has been sophomore Amber Voerg with 25 goals and 18 assists. Senior Kim Aslinger has scored 18 goals, followed by juniors Amanda Hiler with 16, Jennifer Daume with 15 and Lorie Bittle with 13, including Tuesday's lone sectional goal.

Lady Tigers goalie Heather Hey has recorded a school-record 18 shutouts, backed by a strong defense.

In the previous two years, the Lady Tigers did not face the St. Louis area's top teams during the regular season and Doyle said that might have hurt a bit come playoff time.

So this year Doyle scheduled some top St. Louis squads -- and the Lady Tigers held up well, beating St. Charles West early in the season and playing Ursuline Academy to a tie later in the year.

"I think playing those St. Louis schools like we did gives us confidence," Doyle said. "That's why I wanted to play them."

With so many playoff games decided by one goal, Doyle said a big key tonight for Central will be to jump on top.

"I think if we can get on the board first, that will be critical for us," he said. "Then you don't get as nervous about breaking down because you know even if you do, you're still tied."