Saxony Lutheran girls soccer team shuts out Principia to advance to Class 1 final four

Another win, another first for the Saxony Lutheran girls soccer team.

Brianna Mueller scored two first-half goals, and the Saxony defense did the rest as the Crusaders advanced to the Class 1 final four with a 3-0 whitewash of Principia on Saturday at Central High School.

Saxony (22-2) will face Barstow (15-2-2) Friday in Blue Springs, Missouri -- a suburb of Kansas City -- at noon in a state semifinal. St. Louis Trinity Catholic (17-4) will take on Columbia Father Tolton Regional Catholic (19-6) at 2 p.m. in the other semifinal. The championship game is slated for Saturday at 2 p.m.

It's the first final four for the Crusaders' soccer squad, which fell painfully short of its goal the past two years, failing to survive a brutal district tournament gantlet.

Saxony Lutheran's Tess Daniel collides with Principia goalie Libby Lewis during the second half of a Class 1 state quarterfinal Saturday, May 30, 2015 at Cape Central High School. (Fred Lynch)

"It's unbelievable," said Mueller, a junior midfielder. "We've never even won districts. This is our first year winning districts, and we're going to Kansas City to play in the state tournament. And that's incredible."

Fellow junior Heather Wills, who set up Mueller's first goal, couldn't quite put her excitement into words.

"It's pretty exciting," she said. "Our first game of districts, we felt like we really had a fire for it and we really wanted it. We've been waiting so long. We just wanted it so bad."

It didn't take long for the Crusaders to flex their muscle. They scored just 82 seconds into the contest when Mueller headed in a perfect cross from Wills. The play was set up by junior forward Tess Daniel, who took a deep ball down the left side and crossed to junior midfielder Grace Mirly, whose header sailed wide right. Wills ran onto the rebound and passed ahead to Mueller, who caught Principia goalkeeper Libby Lewis flat-footed and sent a header into the near upper corner.

"The ball was just crazy up in the air, and I was like, 'Hey, I'm going to use my head and try and put it into the goal,'" Mueller said. "I didn't think it went in. I thought it went wide."

It didn't, and the Crusaders had the early lead.

"That quick goal at the beginning, that was the game-changer right there," Saxony coach Garrett Fritsche said. "We put a lot of pressure on them, and giving up that early goal, that's tough to come back from. But give it to Principia, they played hard, too. They played really well."

Later in the half, Daniel weaved her way through the middle of the Panthers' defense before drawing a free kick following a rough tackle. From 30 yards out, Mueller floated a high shot into the upper left corner of the net to give Saxony a 2-0 lead.

"This year was our first district championship, and now we're going to state," said Daniel, who injured her hamstring in a scary late-game collision with Lewis but should be fine for the final four. "It's just been a journey this whole time. I'm so excited to keep doing it with these girls. We have a great team, we have a great bond, and it's just going be a wonderful experience in so many ways."

The second half came down to defense as the Crusaders continually foiled nearly every offensive thrust by the Panthers. Saxony goalkeeper Raegan Wieser barely broke a sweat while making just six saves to notch the shutout.

Saxony Lutheran midfielder Laurel Mueller beams after scoring her team's third goal against Principia during the final two minutes of a Class 1 state quarterfinal Saturday, May 30, 2015 at Cape Central High School. (Fred Lynch)

"Our defense is outstanding," Fritsche said. "I can't remember if that's our 15th or 16th shutout this year. That's unbelievable for a high school program. They keep working, they never give up. They get a toe on it, whatever it takes to clear the ball. Then you've got Raegan back there. If they do get a shot off, she's going stop it. She's unbelievable back there, too."

Principia coach Jason Norsic lauded Saxony's defensive effort.

"I thought Saxony did a really good job of putting pressure on our backs," said Norsic, whose team finished 8-9. "It was hard for us to find our forwards. Saxony did a really great job of pressuring the ball. Our girls just couldn't handle it as well as we have in the past."

Saxony freshman Laurel Mueller put the finishing touches on the win, scoring with just under two minutes remaining in the game. She took a cross on the left side, dribbled in and footed a quick shot past Lewis to make it 3-0 and send the Crusaders on to the final four.

"This isn't an opportunity that's given to most teams," she said. "As a freshman, first year there, I'm going to definitely play my hardest. I'm just so excited."