St. Vincent of Perryville, girls soccer champions of the Jefferson County Activities Association, lost 1-0 to Clayton in the Class 2 state championship game June 7 at Fenton Soccer Park.
The Indians, at 21-4, finished with a better record than the Greyhounds (14-10-1), who won the title for the second time in three years.
The Missouri High School Soccer Coaches Association released its all-state teams and Clayton junior Claire Graetz is the player of the year, senior teammate Marin Hoette is the goalkeeper of the year and Greyhound head coach Brendan Taylor is public school coach of the year. For the Indians, junior midfielder Lana Adams scored 53 goals and is the co-offensive player of the year and Cari Barnes is the private school coach of the year.
Adams scored both goals in a 2-1 victory over Windsor (15-9, 4-1 in JCAA play) in Perryville on May 6. That game ultimately decided the JCAA championship, which Windsor won in 2024.
The Indians, Owls and independent St. Pius X (16-5) played in the Class 2 District 1 tournament, with the Lancers seeded No. 1. St. Vincent blanked Windsor 2-0 in the semifinals and Adams struck again with the only goal in a 1-0 win over St. Pius in the final.
All-state honors went to Lancer senior goalie Kadyn Gottman (first team), senior defender Mackenzie Gudic (second team) and senior forward Bridget Flanagan (honorable mention). The Owls had two second-team selections in forward Lillie Coleman and goalie Haley Rose, both juniors.
This was Rose’s first year as a starter and she played 1,885 minutes in goal with a goals-against average of 1.10 and 10 solo shutouts. She flourished under the guidance of assistant coach Chris Malec, Windsor head coach Mike Hutchison said.
“She stepped in with a lot of confidence,” Hutchison said. “There were some rough moments early, but she put in the work with Coach Malec and by mid-April she was great. She improved on high balls, instead of letting them fall under the crossbar. She’d push low shots wide so they weren’t dangerous afterward.
“It was a good feeling to know with Haley in goal, the other team was going to have to do something great to score.”
Rose, who also plays forward on the Owls’ basketball team, said she was surprised by her selection.
“I am a very hard worker and I try my hardest every game to forget about everything and try to play the game,” she said. “I am really good at reading the shooter. I stopped a couple of (penalty kicks). I watch their shooters’ body language. They look one way and then go the other. I watch their hips because they’re open to the direction they’re shooting.”
Coleman led Windsor this spring with 41 points on 15 goals and 11 assists. After three years on the varsity, she has 40 goals and 34 assists for 114 points, already ranking among such past scoring standouts as Taylor Kolinski (2023 graduate) and Maddy Follmer (2024).
“She had several game-winners (goals),” Hutchison said. “When we need that critical goal, Lillie will step up in those situations. Her stats were higher in 2024 because we had Maddy Follmer. Defenses tried to stop Maddy last year and Lillie did a good job of embracing the extra attention she got this season.”
Coleman’s sister, Carlea, will be a sophomore this fall and Lillie said she’s looking forward to her moving up to the varsity next spring. A wing forward, Carlea tore knee ligaments while playing indoors in January and has yet to start running in her recovery program.
“I’m looking forward to her speed,” Lillie said. “We haven’t played together since we were little.”
Lillie said her own strength as a goal-scorer comes from her ability to shoot from anywhere. She’s usually the first Owl to take their free shots. She scored in a JCAA game against De Soto with a header off a corner kick.
“The ball was up in the air and I ran through it,” she said.
Windsor is 32-13 the last two seasons. “At the beginning of the (2025) season, we expected to be really good,” Coleman said. “By the end, we had accomplished everything that we wanted to.”
“Not only have we had a quality starting lineup, but we’ve had quality depth and that’s allowed us to sustain success,” Hutchison said.
Under former head coach Aaron Portell, St. Pius enjoyed competing for the JCAA and district titles every year. Portell, who left before the 2024-2025 school year to be the girls basketball head coach at Festus, led the Lancers to a second-place finish in the state (Class 1) in 2022.
Pam Zaring succeeded Portell and brought years of coaching experience with her. She also benefited from guidance by longtime Lancer coach Kevin Halley.
“Here I felt very green,” Zaring said. “I learned a lot about the area’s soccer programs. Everybody was very nice and welcoming.”
Gottman shared time in the Lancer goal with senior Mary Hrdlicka, who posted six solo shutouts and allowed six goals in 795 minutes. Gottman was 3-0 in conference games and led the team with 989 minutes and 73 saves.
“Kadyn, specifically on the field, she’s such a fantastic goalie,” Zaring said. “What I saw was how much she matured as a leader this year. We talked about what leadership means to her and she was a sponge, and to see her transformation was phenomenal.”
Gottman and Gudic have signed to play at Emporia State University in Kansas.
“I say this with 100 percent certainty, (Gudic) was the best center back I saw all year long and I wouldn’t say that if I didn’t mean it,” Zaring said. “She makes difficult things look simple. She positions herself so well because she’s such an outstanding defender. The composure and calmness she carried was incredible.”
Gottman, Gudic and Flanagan were the team captains this season. After years playing in the backfield, Flanagan was the spearpoint of the team’s 4-2-3-1 formation and led them with 33 points on 12 goals and nine assists.
“I met her before I officially took the job and instantly saw she had raw athletic skills,” Zaring said. “I was impressed with the physical attributes she has and when I saw how she played, her speed and strength and leadership was what we needed at the top of the field.”
Zaring said Flanagan embraced the position change, as did others who moved to new spots.
“I asked them, ‘Where have you played? What have you done?’ And I just watched. I told Kevin (Flanagan) was going to play an important position at forward. I had a group of girls with a brand-new coach and they were nervous. Those girls were so coachable and they responded so well to everything I challenged them with.”
Class 3 state champion Cor Jesu Academy and runner up Fort Zumwalt South dominated the all-state honors in that class. Spurred by an 8-0 start to the season, Festus finished 16-7 (2-3 in the JCAA), losing 2-0 to Cape Girardeau (Notre Dame) in the Class 3 District 1 final.
Three Festus players were the first to be selected all state since Jordan Oetting in 2017. The Tigers started playing girls soccer in 2006.
Kaylin Brewer was picked for the all-state second team after a breakout freshman season, leading the Tigers with 90 points on 36 goals and 18 assists. The goals and points are a school record. She recorded seven hat tricks (three goals in one game) and had a season-high five against Sullivan.
“She still has a lot of growth but she had a hunger for scoring goals and she brought a cutting edge to the team,” Festus head coach Caleb Zustiak said. “I wouldn’t be surprised if she turns out to be like Lana Adams at St. Vincent.”
Festus sophomore midfielder Addison Katinsky (14 goals) and junior forward Autumn “Pixie” Willis (17 goals) kept defenses from collapsing on Brewer and earned all-state honorable mention.
“Between the three of them they terrorized teams this year,” Zustiak said. “Addy probably has one of the best soccer IQs I’ve coached. She’s good at seeing where to attack. She played midfield for the majority of the season, so her goals show how well she took her chances and took great free kicks. She got our playmaker award.”
A former cross country runner, Willis scored the game-winning goal in the district semifinals against Poplar Bluff.
“She scored quite a bit even though she was dealing with injuries at the end of the season,” the coach noted. “She has great scoring potential.”