GRANDVIEW, Mo. (October 26, 2025) – The Excelsior Springs Tiger soccer team claimed the Suburban Conference Blue Division championship this week with two wins last week. They came into the week needing one win to clinch at least a share of the title, but won both matches to win the conference outright. A 2-1 penalty kick win over Smithville on Monday, the second time they had to go to extra time with the Warriors this year, gave them at least a share of the title. A 2-1 overtime win over Grandview, who shut the Tigers out on October 13, clinched the outright conference championship on Wednesday night.
“To come back and grab another conference title after losing the seniors from last year shows immense pride from our team,” coach Brett McKenzie said.
The Tigers entered the season with a total of five juniors and seniors, expecting it to take time to settle in with such a young team. “The boys have put in a lot of work to get to this point, but we believed we could and would compete for the conference title,” he added.
The matchup with Smithville was a defensive battle, with junior goalkeeper Brett Jones coming up with 14 saves on the night. The Tigers were only able to get four shots on goal before heading into penalty kicks. Sophomore Gauge Facciuto put the Tigers on the scoreboard in the 32nd minute with a goal coming off an assist from sophomore Tyler Wartner. The Warriors found the net in the 42nd minute to tie the game up at 1-1, and that is where the score remained for the remainder of regulation and the two overtime periods.
Jones made a save on the first Smithville penalty kick attempt while Facciuto, Wartner, sophomore Ethan Tade, and senior Jaxon Hellyer all converted their penalty kicks, putting the pressure on senior Brady Schoonover to connect to claim the win. Schoonover placed the soccer ball in the right corner of the net with the Warrior goalie moving the opposite direction to end the game as the Tigers stormed the field to celebrate.
The Tigers knew their work was not completely done as they had to travel to Grandview to avenge the 5-0 loss from two weeks before. Wartner opened the scoring in the 19th minute with an unassisted goal to give the Tigers a 1-0 lead. The Bulldogs evened things up with a goal in the 55th minute, and that is where the score stayed until the end of regulation. The conference title was clinched in the 5th minute of overtime when Tade found Schoonover for the game-winning goal and outright Suburban Conference Blue Division championship.
“To come back and grab another conference championship is a testament to the work this team has put in and the desire they have to be great,” McKenzie said.
The Tiger regular season has ended, and they will now move on to the MSHSAA Class 2 District 8 Tournament. They will be seeking their fifth consecutive district championship as a program. They will receive a first-round bye as the number one seed and will take on the winner of Savannah Savages and Benton Cardinals on November 4 in Smithville. The winner of that matchup will play for the district title on November 6 at 6:00 p.m. The other side of the district bracket includes the second-seeded Warriors taking on the seventh-seeded Lafayette Irish. The Maryville Spoofhounds are the third seed and play the Chillicothe Hornets. Each winner will face off in the semifinals, with the semifinal winner playing in the championship game. The district-winning team will move on to play in the MSHSAA Class 2 State Quarterfinal on November 14.
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