Notebook: St. Charles, Orchard Farm, Howell North Advance to State Soccer

There has been a flurry of fantastic play from St. Charles-area soccer teams this spring, and the area will be well-represented in next week’s state soccer tournaments, beginning with sectional play on Tuesday.

In the Class 1 State Tournament, Orchard Farm will battle Winfield (14-9-1) next Tuesday in sectional action. The Eagles are 15-7, and won the Class 1 District 7 tourney as its top seed and host school. They defeated No. 3 Lutheran St. Charles, 4-2, and beat O’Fallon Christian in the first round, 2-1.

In the title game against Lutheran, junior forward Brooke Burckhardt scored two goals while teammate Alexis Robbers scored one goal and added three assists. Burckhardt has 26 goals this season and Robbers, a junior midfielder, has a team-best 64 points.

St. Charles, the host school, claimed the district championship in the Class 2 District 6 Tournament. The Pirates (14-10) blasted Jennings, 10-0, in the district semifinals before beating Trinity, 2-1, in the title game. Sophomore Autumn Olendorff and junior Abby Zimpfer each had three goals against Jennings as goalkeepers Page Wohldmann and Taylor Wolf teamed up for the shutout. St. Charles will play Visitation Academy in the District 5 title game next Tuesday in sectionals.

St. Charles West had an impressive showing in the Class 2 District 8 tourney, but the Warriors lost to top-seed St. Dominic, 4-1, in the district championship. Second-seeded West defeated No. 3 Duchesne, 3-2, in the semifinals and finished the season at 16-6.

In Class 3 play, top-seeded Francis Howell North defeated host school Francis Howell, 2-1 in two overtimes, in the District 7 championship game on Friday night. Howell North defeated Howell Central, 3-0, in the district semifinals. North will play Fort Zumwalt West next Tuesday.

All match times for next Tuesday’s sectionals are yet to be determined.

BASEBALL

After pulling off a stunning upset in the opening round of the Class 3 District 6 baseball tourney at Winfield, Duchesne went cold. The Pioneers ended a 25-game losing streak by knocking off No. 2-seed Winfield, 6-1, but fell 7-2 to O'Fallon Christian in the district semifinals. Duchesne finished the season at 1-26.

Senior Zach Bohr led the Pioneers this season with a .434 batting average, 33 hits and 25 runs batted in.

No. 3-seed Orchard Farm was upset in the opening round by O'Fallon Christian, 14-3, and ended its season at 18-6. Senior shortstop Zack Jones finished with a .513 batting average this season, with 41 hits and 39 RBI.

In the Class 4 District 7 Tournament, second-seeded Howell North beat No. 7 St. Charles, 7-3, in the first round and Pattonville, 4-2, in the district semifinals. In the district championship on Friday night, Howell North (19-12) lost to CBC, 6-1, at host school Parkway Central.

St. Charles finished at 9-17 this season. Senior pitcher Connor Brett had a solid season on the mound, going 4-5 with a 3.11 earned-run average in a team-high 56 innings pitched. Brett also batted .381.

In District 8 at Fort Zumwalt West, No. 7 St. Charles West lost 11-1 to second-seeded Howell Central. The Warriors finished 9-19.

(Have some local sports news, or story ideas? Please email Patch sports editor Brian Doolittle at briandoolittle@hotmail.com)