Northwest boys soccer head coach Dave Willis says when he looks at this year’s team, their physicality gives him hope for a strong season.
Hoping to carry through some momentum from their strong 18-9 season with two tournament titles and wins over strong opponents like Lafayette, Mehlville and Lindbergh, Willis says they’re slated to continue facing tough opponents.
Last season’s successes were supported by several strong seniors who have graduated, including their all-state goalkeeper Payton Rupp. Still, Willis is confident his players are ready to step up and fill those roles One of the big changes Willis is most excited about this year is his players’ commitment to training off the field.
“We’ve really made a push to get our guys to buy into being dedicated in the weight room,” Willis said. “There’s been a pretty big transformation in the bodies of a lot of our kids who were juniors last year and are seniors now. You can just see it in the summer scrimmages. We’re bigger, faster, stronger. There’s a lot of reasons for me to be pretty optimistic.”
Willis, who will be heading into his 19th year leading the team, says much of that new focus on strength training stems from the school district’s recent investment in a new fitness facility that can host 50 students every hour.
“Our district made a pretty significant financial investment, and we’ve got this brand-new state of the art fitness center at the high school,” Willis said. “We’ve also got a fantastic strength and conditioning coach.”
Those improvements to player strength are a major plus for the Lions, but just as critical for their success is a slate of skilled upperclassmen ready to take the reins.
Junior Emerson Rupp takes over in goal for his brother, Payton. Willis says Emerson is a carbon copy of his brother.
“It will take a quality shot to beat him,” Willis said.
On defense, Northwest is returning a very athletic back line. Senior Drew Johnson returns for his fourth year as a starting center back, and Willis says he brings leadership and communication to their defense. He will be joined by senior Cooper Brown, the team’s best ball winner, whom Willis says understands the small, intricate pieces of soccer. They will take the field with juniors Aiyden Brown and Jordan Erlanger and sophomore Jenson Pflasterer. Willis said Cooper is one of the most reliable players on the team.
“He is extremely coachable and willing to do what it takes,” Willis said.
The Lions’ midfield is similarly anchored by strong senior leadership and upperclassman support, including from multiple MLSNext2 players. Senior Parker Durham heads the offense as a four-year varsity player. He is joined by juniors Logan Mayer and Braden Didway. Didway was a second team all-Suburban Conference Red pool selection in 2025, and Willis said is the team’s “Maestro in the middle.” Sophomores Cole Moleski and Connor Eckstein are also expected to put on good showings.
At forward, senior Sam Graham is returning from a first-team all-conference performance after leading the Lions with 14 assists and 10 goals for 34 points. Graham is one of the many players who is especially committed in the weight room, and Willis says he has put on 20 pounds of muscle in the offseason.
Alongside Graham is senior Mavrick Pieper, whom Willis said is a relentless 1v1 attacker. Senior Juan Rangel is a player Willis expects to add an “X-Factor” to the team, and Junior Joe Gabriel is expected to make an impact whether he starts or not.
Summertime scrimmages against Ladue, Parkway West and Parkway Central have let Northwest players show off some of their skills.
“I think the biggest thing I have found out (this summer) is that we’re pretty deep,” Willis said. “Because it’s the summer, you’re going to be missing some guys here and there because they’ve either got family vacations, or we had a couple guys who were sick. So you’re playing some kids that you don’t normally expect to be playing. I think we found out that we’re deeper because a lot of these kids were able to come in these games and perform at a pretty high level.”
Willis is hoping to see a strong showing from his team this year. He’s setting expectations high with goals for 15-plus wins, a conference title and is pushing them to aim higher, maybe even about a possible Class 4 final four appearance.
“I get all the kids together toward the end of the year, and I’ve got a PowerPoint presentation giving them all the expectations for the summer,” he said. “I’ve got a slide on there to talk about when the final four is, and it’s a dream. I mean, there are only four teams that are going to make it there in the whole state, but we’ve been playing at a level the last couple years where I want us to prepare for it and I want our guys to think it’s possible, to train like it’s possible.”
Northwest opens the season at home on Sept. 1 at 6 p.m. against Lafayette in a Red pool matchup.
Niehaus in from the wild, onto the pitch
At the camp in Minnesota he’s worked at the last six summers, Nate Niehaus is now the kitchen manager and helps cook three meals a day for 210 people.
Niehaus returns home Sunday, the day before he begins his 26th season as the head coach of the Fox boys soccer team. The first day of practice for fall sports is Monday, Aug. 10. That’s preparation for the season-opener Aug. 28 against Affton in the Bishop DuBourg Tournament. The Warriors will also play DuBourg and St. Pius X during the round-robin schedule. Fox beat the Cavaliers and Lancers before falling to the Cougars in last year’s tournament.
The Warriors finished last season with an overall record of 8-16 and 3-8 in the Suburban Conference Green pool. Their two biggest subtractions from that team are 2026 graduates Ryan Kettler, who led the team with 29 points, and goalkeeper Will Arnold, who played all 1,955 minutes.
“We’ll have a solid season,” Niehaus said. “We have some rebuilding to do. We have quite a few seniors.”
Senior Cole Bridick is the team’s leader in the midfield. Bridick posted two goals and two assists.
“He is a playmaker and gets the ball where it needs to be,” Niehaus said.
Senior Mason Hanson is a defensive center midfielder.
Owen Cook returns for his senior year at forward after leading the Warriors with 10 goals.
“He has a knack for finding the goal,” Niehaus said.
Seniors Dylan Dresch and Jaden Velasco are experienced wingers who will have an increased role in the attack.
Seniors Ethan Meyers, a three-year starter, and Adin Dukic will lead the defense. Dukic pulls double duty in the fall as kicker for the school’s football team. Sophomore Emir Kadirov joins the midfield.
“We had (Kadirov) at winger because Kettler was in the midfield, but I think his more natural spot is the midfield,” Niehaus said.
In their annual C-6 matchup, the Warriors will be at Seckman on Sept. 28. The Jaguars have a four-game winning streak in the intra-district rivalry.
Seckman boys soccer cautiously optimistic ahead of challenging season
Coming off a 14-9 season, the Seckman boys soccer team is entering its new season with plans to show some grit against a tough schedule. Head coach Cole Easley, who is heading into his fourth year with the program and second as varsity head coach, set up an intentionally tough schedule to help prepare them for hopefully a November run.
“We did increase the strength of our schedule significantly,” Easley said. “A large goal of ours is simply to win a district match. I’ve been coaching for four years so it’s been at least four years since we’ve won a game at districts, so that would be our overall goal. On a week-to-week basis, we want to win some tougher games, win some unexpected games and continue to build off those wins or close losses and go from there.”
The Jaguars are set up for success as they approach tryouts with a strong group of rising seniors from last year’s team.
“We’re bringing in a lot of our juniors who have got a lot of varsity experience junior year and sophomore year,” Easley said. “Six of them last year had good minutes so it’s going to be nice to see those guys, and we have a handful of sophomores who, through last season, earned some good quality minutes as well.”
Senior center back Wilson Downing, a second team all-Suburban Conference Green pool selection last year, will lead the defense with tactical positioning. Joining him on the back line is senior Garrett Siegfried, whom Easley says is a physical defender, willing to play rough and put his body on the line for a play.
Midfielder Bradyn Winschel, a senior returning after a second-team Green pool pick, will serve as a “workhorse,” according to Easley, showing off technical runs and measured, deliberate passing. He is paired up with senior center defensive midfielder Will Kuehn, a second-team Green pool pick, who Easley praises for his positional intelligence. On the wing, senior Elliott Schulte is a powerful 1v1 attacker, rounding out a firm midfield presence.
In the goal, junior Beckett Pauly is returning with some varsity time under his belt last season and will be supported by freshman Ethan Boden.
After Gavin Derleth graduated this spring, Seckman needs a new defensive leader to emerge. Practice for fall sports begins Monday, Aug. 10.
Easley hopes to see his players toughened up by their schedule, and says they’re ready to prove their stamina against elevated competition.
“They’re obviously well aware that some of the games will be David versus Goliath-esque, which I feel like they will hopefully rise to the occasion,” Easley said. “I’ve been telling them that we’re going to be running. It’s going to be a lot of work because we’re going to be facing teams that may out-skill us significantly, and maybe we can make up for that with some stamina, with some strength.”
Former JV head coach Emilie Wuertenberg has moved to the varsity assistant position and Kasey Hartmann has stepped in to lead the JV program.
“I’m glad that we filled it with somebody who has been with the program for a number of years, because I’m honestly just looking for stability within the coaching department,” Easley said.
“I like the makeup. I like the mesh of the people. We all have the same vision when it’s all said and done, so I think the program is headed in the right direction.”
Seckman opens its season on Saturday, Aug. 22 in Bonne Terre against North County.