St. Xavier comes into the season with a dominant unbeaten streak of 55 matches but also a large new batch of starters. Which will tell the story of this year's team?
Photo by Wayne Litmer
People sometimes wonder how a great soccer tradition was born in the non-traditional soccer area of Louisville, Ky., at a school named
St. Xavier (Louisville, Ky).
It probably didn't hurt that the school's first principal in 1864, Xaverian Brother Paul Van Gerwen, was from the great soccer nation of Belgium.
"We've always had that on our side," mused St. Xavier coach
Andy Schulten.
And what a side it's been.
St. Xavier, where Schulten has been the head coach since 1997, has won eight KHSAA championships in the past 16 seasons. The Tigers are currently riding a 55-game unbeaten streak, and are coming off a 27-0-2 season that landed them at No. 4 nationally in the final National Soccer Coaches Association of America fall rankings. They are one of 10 fall boys teams to be honored as a national title Early Contender, presented by adidas and Dick's Sporting Goods.
See all the 2013 Fall Soccer Early ContendersMajor challenges lay ahead, however, particularly for team that graduated 10 starters and lost 13 of its top 16 players. Give St. Xavier high marks for refusing to back down as it enters the 2013 season.
Joe Workman
Photo by Wayne Litmer
"We're facing the toughest schedule we've ever played," Schulten said.
High school soccer generally doesn't engage in as much inter-sectional play and travel as some sports, but St. Xavier is one of the teams countering that trend significantly. It will will play St. Louis University High of Missouri and Liberty Olentangy of Ohio (No. 9 nationally in 2013) this season, and will also attend what has become arguably the top in-season fall soccer tournament in the nation, the ninth-annual
Gateway City Classic Oct. 3-5 in St. Louis.
The St. Xavier football team - not to be confused with St. Xavier of Cincinnati - was recently named by MaxPreps as one of the
Top 25 high school football dynasties of all time. The St. Xavier soccer team is assuming a similarly lofty status among the nation's elite.
"We should be one of the top tier teams in the state this year, but we will face several strong challenges from local Louisville teams," Schulten cautioned.
"Trinity (Louisville, Ky.) returns several starters from a team that tied us last year during the regular season. Also, district rivals Male High School and Collegiate return several key players and will pose tough challenges for us to overcome."
See the entire St. Xavier photo gallery
Local outlook: "Andy Schulten has led St. X to eight state championships in his 16 seasons as head coach, and the Tigers have been especially dominant over the past two title seasons. They closed the 2012 season with 11 straight shutouts and are unbeaten over their past 55 matches (53-0-2) record. Joe Workman is the only returning starter but led St. X with 18 goals last season."
- Jason Frakes, Louisville Courier-Journal (@kyhighs)
