Crusaders cruise in district opener

Saxony Lutheran scored a pair of goals in the first half and poured on five second-half goals in a 7-0 rout of Hancock in the first round of the Class 1 District 1 soccer tournament Monday.

Garrett Fritsche had a goal in each half as the Crusaders improved to 17-7 and advanced to Wednesday's 6 p.m. semifinal game against the Bayless-Kennett winner at John F. Kennedy High School in Chesterfield, Mo.

The second-seeded Crusaders also received a first-half goal from Andrew Etzold and second-half goals from Brent Rodewald, Bryant Steffens, Ben Buescher and Matt Stueve against No. 7 Hancock.

Chad Bachmann had two assists and Etzold had one.

Austin Micken recorded the shutout in goal.

Saxony Lutheran's Ryan Sprandel heads a ball in front of teammate Taylor Johnson during the second half of their Class 1 District 1 victory Monday against Hancock.

Class 2 District 1

Two-time defending state champion Notre Dame opened its quest for a third straight Class 2 title with an 8-0 quarterfinal victory against Festus in Disrtict 1 play.

Brock Dirnberger led the attack with four goals, while John Unterreiner, Nick Wren, Brenton Ruopp and Jonathan Lynch each added a goal.

Josh Robert and Jimmy Obermark each tallied two assists, and Jack Mocherman, Joe Froemsdorf and Joda Holloway had one apiece.

Goalkeeper Ryan Bass notched the shutout.

The top-seeded Bulldogs will face Hillsboro in Thursday's semifinals. Hillsboro ended Perryville's maiden season Monday with a 2-1 overtime victory.

The Pirates had tied the score at 1-1 on a goal with about 10 minutes left in regulation.

Hillsboro, which had scored in the first half, netted the game-winner on a penalty kick in overtime.

-- From staff reports