C2D1: Saxony senior sings swan song in semifinal loss

AFFTON — The thrill of victory and agony of defeat were on display in the Class 2 District 1 semifinals.

Tournament host Affton defeated Saxony Lutheran 7-0 to win a school-record 21st game and advanced to the district championship game on Wednesday, Nov. 1, in St. Louis.

Affton sophomores Emir Husic and Ahmed Suljagic each scored three goals for a hat trick. Senior Jackson Wilbers scored a goal of his own in the second half.

It also meant the end of Luke Eggemeyer’s soccer career at Saxony Lutheran.

Saxony Lutheran's Nicholas Chambless and Affton's Emir Husic battle for the ball in the semifinal round of the Class 2 District 1 Tournament on Wednesday, Nov. 1, in St. Louis.Tony Capobianco ~ tcapobianco@semoball.com

“You’re not gonna replace him as a player and person,” an emotional Crusaders coach Christopher Crawford said.

Eggemeyer went from a final-four finish last year to being the only senior on this year’s team. The season was truly a test in leadership and maturity for Eggemeyer.

“Definitely always keeping my head up even when we were losing by a lot,” Eggemeyer said, “just making sure I keep my energy high. I keep my effort high because they always say you lead by example.”

Saxony Lutheran’s season ends with a 9-11 record. The Crusaders started the season 5-2 but struggled the rest of the way, including a 1-4 record at home.

“There's been definitely ups and downs,” Eggemeyer said. ”Every season there's always a low point, there's always a high point. You go on a winning streak, sometimes you go on a losing streak. But overall this season I think went really great. We definitely improved as we went on through the season, and I just hope that me being a good enough leader and good enough senior, I led them to become better people overall, and then better soccer players.”

Prior to Eggemeyer’s arrival at Saxony Lutheran, the Crusaders won six straight district championships including a final-four appearance in 2017. Eggemeyer had a big hand in the Crusaders returning to the state semifinals in 2022 and has the young team ready to make another run in the near future.

“All four years that I've been here, we've always been pretty good,” Eggemeyer said. “We've had solid people. We've always had a lot of seniors at least like four or five seniors. So definitely this year was the first time that I've seen that it's only been one senior or two seniors on the team.”

Saxony Lutheran goalkeeper Owen Buchheit defends the net against Affton in the semifinal round of the Class 2 District 1 Tournament on Wednesday, Nov. 1, in St. Louis.Tony Capobianco ~ tcapobianco@semoball.com

Affton will take on Bayless in a battle of two 20-win teams for the C2D1 championship on Friday at 6 p.m.