Sports
Senior Defender Contributes For Zumwalt East
Zumwalt East defender Jordan Swindle leads the team as a senior.
Although the Lions’ soccer team opened up play in the St. Dominic-FastLane Super Cup Boys Varsity Soccer Tourney last week with a , senior midfielder Jordan Swindle feels his team has much to be proud of.
“I thought we did a great job defensively,” Swindle said. “We did a great job of clearing the ball when it needed to be cleared. (Defender) Ryan Ruzycki did a great job of instructing all of us and getting his men where they needed to be. Our midfield held a great ball and Brendan Shields had a great distribution.”
Swindle scored the Lions’ only goal with 18:04 left in the first half. The goal tied the contest at 1-1.
Find out what's happening in St. Peterswith free, real-time updates from Patch.
“I saw the opportunity and I placed it perfectly,” Swindle said on the goal.
East fought St. Dominic throughout the second half and through one 10-minute overtime period. The contest came to an end when Dominic’s Conor Baker scored early in the second overtime. The Lions dropped to 2-2 with the loss.
Find out what's happening in St. Peterswith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Swindle played freshman soccer for Fort Zumwalt West in his first year of high school and started attending East as a sophomore. He’s been a wing midfielder on the varsity team since his sophomore season.
“It’s been a great opportunity,” he said. “It’s been great to play for (Fort Zumwalt East) Coach (Seth) Wilber. He’s a great coach who knows how to coach us. I also like our team chemistry. It’s grown a lot since our sophomore year. I have a great bond with them. It’s what helps us win games.”
Swindle said he has seen East’s schedule improve over the last three years.
“We play Francis Howell and Rockridge, a ranked team, and we still play quality teams like Hazelwood West,” he said. “These are teams that are good for us to play.”
The midfielder started playing soccer on a recreational team in seventh grade. One-year later he started playing select soccer with the Tony Glavin organization.
“It was a faster-paced game,” he said on his beginnings in select soccer. “It wasn’t just kick and run. It was the fundamentals of passing the ball around and switching it from side to side.”
Swindle plans on continuing his career next year, as he has his sights set on Lindenwood University, a Division II school in St. Charles, or the University of Indiana, a Division I school in Bloomington, IN.