On Nov. 8, the boys soccer team defeated the Webster Groves High School Statesmen 2-1 in the Class 3 District 2 Final, earning the district title, and a chance to compete in the Class 3 State Quarter Final. After overtime began with a game score of 1-1, senior Chase Parmer scored the winning goal with an assist by senior AJ Tuohy. Parmer said that during overtime, he and the team played their hardest, because they wanted to continue playing and reach for more wins.
“A lot of [what I was thinking during overtime] was ‘I don’t want my season to end.’ We all want to be at the top and we’re not going to have [a loss] happen,” Parmer said.
Before overtime begins, Head Coach Thomas Wade said that as coaches, they tell the team to keep playing hard and not to slow down.
“[We tell them,] ‘all gas, no breaks.’ In a game like that, where we felt like we had the momentum and we were in attacking position for the most part, we just told them [to] go out and keep the same pace and intensity and pressure on [the other team],” Wade said.
Senior Nick Nusser said that he felt good during overtime, because the team was competing better than they had been earlier in the game.
“I was really confident in overtime, because the whole overtime, we had the ball and we were getting a lot of pressure on [the other team] compared to the first half,” Nusser said.
After the first goal of the game was scored by the Statesmen during the second half, the Falcons had to come back quickly in order to win. Parmer said that the team was prepared for this situation and were able to come back because of their experience with difficult matchups.
“I think [what helped us win was] definitely our mentality, because we’ve gone down in games before, but we know our way to fight back and come out with the win,” Parmer said.
Wade said that in close matches, he focuses on keeping the team calm and conscious of ways that they can get a leg up on the other team.
“[I] just try to keep them focused and steady. We talk about trusting each other, trusting our system, and just playing the way that they know how to play and executing all the little things better than the other team,” Wade said.
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Surrounded by teammates, senior Evan Wade embraces father and coach Thomas Wade. The win in the district final allowed the team’s season to continue, taking them to the Class 3 state quarter final.
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As senior Chase Parmer looks back, senior Nick Nusser runs the ball down the field. Summit’s first goal of the game was scored in the second half by senior AJ Tuohy with an assist from Nusser.
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Smiling after their win, senior Jake Curran and junior Blayne Douglass hug senior Braeden Boeger. After both teams scored one goal in the second half, the game was won with a goal in overtime by senior Chase Parmer.
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Kicking the ball across the field, senior goalie Braeden Boeger passes to his teammate. The soccer team came back to win after the Statesmen scored the first goal of the game during the second half.
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Waving a flag to support the soccer team, senior Wyatt Schneider stands in the student section among other cheering fans. After the game was won, many students ran onto the field to cheer on the soccer team.
