Howell Central Takes Down Timberland, Extends Unbeaten Streak to Eight

WENTZVILLE – Since suffering a 2-1 loss in the season opener back on August 31, the Francis Howell Central Spartans soccer team have been literally unbeatable.

The Spartans played seven games in the two weeks since that opening night loss, and walked away with a win or a tie every single time.

All of those games though, were played in the comfort of Howell Central’s Don Muench Stadium. So it’s little wonder that a top-notch team like the Spartans would go 6-0-1 in those matchups.

On Thursday evening though, Howell Central trekked west to Wentzville to take on Timberland for just its second road trip of the year. But even that couldn’t slow down the red-hot Spartans, who easily dispatched the host Wolves, 3-0.

“We’ve played a lot of games, and we’ve gotten on quite a roll,” Howell Central head coach Derek Phillips said. “We won our tournament, even though we tied with Mehlville, which is a really good team. We’ve been playing pretty good soccer the last few days.”

So good in fact, that thanks to Thursday’s win over Timberland, Howell Central is in first place in the GAC South standings. The Spartans have a 2-0 league mark and tied with rivals Francis Howell and Fort Zumwalt West, who are both 1-0.

“Our league’s really tough,” Phillips said. “There’s several really good teams in it. There’s a lot of soccer left to be played.”

Senior Stephen Rozycki and juniors Brett Hodges and Justin Stinson each scored goals for Howell Central on Thursday, in a game in which the Spartans seemed to control possession of the ball the entire night.

“Our possession tonight was probably the best I’ve seen it all year, on a very difficult surface,” Phillips said. “But we we’re playing a lot of one- and two-touch, and our movement off the ball was great. We talked at halftime about keeping the ball moving, keep working, and keep creating chances.”

That constant forward movement meant goalkeeper Kevin Dougherty didn’t get much work in earning his second shutout win of the season.

The senior only had to make six saves, and many of them came on shots from way out or difficult angles that he was easily able to handle.

“He had a couple of good saves in the first half,” Phillips said. “In the second half, not a whole lot of action down there just due to our kids playing smart and simple, and wearing them down a little bit, having to chase that ball around.”

The Spartans will have a light workout Friday after school, then get a much-deserved two days off over the weekend, before getting back to work with a big game at the Anheuser-Busch Soccer Center in Fenton, against Chaminade Prep, which was ranked No. 48 in last week’s ESPN RISE national high school rankings.

The Red Devils are 4-2 this year, and considered one of the favorites to win the state title, with their only losses coming against nationally-ranked teams from Georgia and Indiana.

“We’ll be stepping up (in competition) with Chaminade on Monday,” Phillips said. “We’re kind of looking forward to the challenge a little bit. I like where we’re at right now. And the kids are working hard. The confidence is there right now. It should be fun.”

The opening kickoff for Monday’s showdown against Chaminade is set for 6 p.m.

The Spartans next home game is Tuesday, September 27, when they’ll host Gibault (IL) at Muench Stadium at 4 p.m.

SCORING SUMMARY 

Score by Halves

F

Francis Howell Central

2

1

3

Wentzville Timberland

0

0

0

First Half

FHC: Justin Stinson

FHC: Stephen Rozycki

Second Half

FHC: Brett Hodges