As the final whistle blew in the CYC soccer tournament Sept 26, the varsity Hounds had won their first ever CYC title in the first ever trip to the finals match in CHS history, defeating Rock Bridge High School, 1-0 .

Greyhounds defeat Ladue on Sept 16.

The weekend began with the Hounds defeating Waterloo High School of Illinois 1-0 at the Anheuser-Busch soccer complex in Fenton on Sept. 25.  Heading into the game, the team needed a win and a shutout to advance to the finals of the CYC tournament.

The team got just that on Friday night, despite playing without three key players.

The Hounds struggled early in the match, with senior goalkeeper Jack Harned coming up with several key saves before junior forward Will Hayes knocked in a pass from freshman Adam Monterusso. The goal was Hayes’ sixth of the season, leading the team. For Monterusso, it was his first varsity point.

“That was pretty cool, especially because we only won 1-0,” Monterusso said.

The rest of the game, the Hounds dominated but could not manage to add to their lead. At one point, senior forward David Goss hit both posts with one shot. In the end, none of that mattered as the team won with a shutout 1-0.

In the finals the following night, the Hounds were set to play against Rock Bridge High School of Columbia, Missouri. The game, however, started an hour late due to a lightning delay.

Once the opening whistle was blown, the game started with a frenzy, both teams creating good scoring chances. The Hounds actually had their entire starting lineup healthy for the first time this season, and the team clicked from the beginning.

As the game wore on, each team’s goalie made big save, and the defenses stepped up as the score was 0-0 at halftime, and the Hounds had a slight advantage in the possession and scoring chance categories.

In the second half, Rock Bridge came at the Hounds with a newfound intensity, and Harned had to make several big saves to keep the game scoreless. With about 15 minutes to play, junior midfielder Beau Haydon cut back to the middle of the field with the ball and unleashed a wicked shot that the Rock Bridge goalie made a diving save on.

At that point, the game stood still as sophomore wing midfielder Maamoun Hossayrami was in a footrace to the ball with a Rock Bridge defender. Luckily for the Hounds, Hossayrami beat the defender to the ball and tapped it in for what proved to be the tournament-winning goal.

Rock Bridge threw everything they had at the Hounds in the final 15 minutes, but stellar defensive play thwarted the opposition, 1-0.

“That was awesome to win this tournament, especially after sort of being embarrassed in it last year,” Harned said. “I couldn’t imagine a better start to my senior season.”

The win raised the Hounds record to 9-1-2 and was the second tournament the team has won (the team won the MICDS tournament at the start of the season). The shutout was also the eighth for the team, which leads all St. Louis metro area schools. The win surely means that the team will rise in the upcoming St. Louis Post-Dispatch small school rankings, where they are currently ranked fourth.

The team has upcoming home games on Oct. 1 at 5:30 p.m. against Lutheran North and, in the team’s Homecoming game, on Oct. 2 also at 5:30 p.m. against district rivals Westminster Christian Academy. Last year, the Hounds defeated Westminster in penalty kicks.

This year’s game has serious district seeding implications, and the team hopes to get as much support as possible when they roll out in the new orange jerseys on Friday at Gay Field before the bonfire activities begin.