Parkway Central soccer team riding a 10-game winning streak

The Parkway Central Colts are kicking the ball around pretty good this fall.

The high school boys soccer squad is off to a 13-1-1 start to the season and leads the Suburban South Conference with a 4-1 mark.

The Colts will get a big test Tuesday (Oct. 4) with visiting DeSmet (12-2-1) coming to play at 4:30 p.m. The Spartans, who are ranked No. 19 in the nation by ESPN Rise, were upset 3-1 Monday by Fort Zumwalt West.

Parkway Central scored a 6-1 victory Monday over Duchesne.

Coach John Theobald knew he’d have a good squad this season. He just didn’t know how good.

“It’s a bit of a surprise for sure,” Theobald said. “We know we would be improved from last year, but you never really know how that will translate into wins and losses.  The guys are just trying to focus on improving everyday.”

The Colts are an experienced club.

“It is in regards that we have 11 players that returned from the team last year, but they were not all starters and we are still somewhat young with five sophomores and nine juniors,” Theobald said.

The Parkway Central captains are Nick Barcellona, Ben Gross, and Alex Willenbrink.

“They are great leaders, but we could have named almost anyone on this team as a captain and gotten similar results,” Theobald said. “It is tight knit group that all work for each other.”

The Colts have a 10-game winning streak. So far this season, Parkway Central has outscored its foes 37-5.

“Obviously, when you put together a streak of wins you have to be doing some things right,” Theobald said. “We are playing good soccer, but we have also caught a few breaks along the way.  We still have some things we need to improve upon, but we are pleased with where we are right now and the work ethic we are receiving every day out whether it is practice or games.”

The first eight games of the winning streak were all shutouts. Theobald emphasizes defense and his Colts have learned what to do.

“I think every year we focus on being organized as a defensive unit, but this if by far the best we’ve been able to execute on the defensive side of the ball,” Theobald said.

Junior goalie Andrew Chekadanov has 10 shutouts this season as he played in goal for every minute of the campaign.

“Andrew is having a great season,” Theobald said. “Defensively, we do a fairly nice job of limiting quality scoring chances, but when we need a big save to keep us in a game he has been able to come up with them.”

Of course, Theobald noted Chekadanov is not doing it alone. He has a good group of defenders in front of him.

The defenders consist of seniors Alex Willenbrink, Keith Coulson, and Chris Wang and with juniors Alex Mischel and Justin Bradshaw, and sophomore Nick Helmbacher.

“They are an interesting group for sure,” Theobald said. “They take a ton of pride in keeping the ball out of the net.  Even in practices they will never give up on a play and let a guy have an easy shot.

“They compete from the first whistle and have done so since the first day of practice.  It is very energizing to be around this group.”

Junior Alex Whalen and sophomore Evan Willenbrink are leading the Colts in scoring.

“We don’t score a lot of goals, so it is good to have a couple of guys that have been able to find the back of the net,” Theobald said. “They are both clever players who stay pretty composed on their opportunities.  Our other front runners and midfielders have done a nice job of getting them the ball in good scoring positions.”

The lone loss this season came to Parkway North when the Vikings scored a 1-0 victory.

“It’s always tough to lose a game in which you don’t allow a goal,” Theobald said. “The game was scoreless through two overtimes and we came up short in PK’s.  To North’s credit they came out and played a solid game against us and at times outworked us.

“The good thing about that is the guys didn’t dwell upon that loss too long or let it be a momentum changer.  We got to work the next day and continued to focus on getting better every day.”

The other blemish on the road came in a 1-1 tie with Marquette.

“The Marquette game was a fun high school game to watch,” Theobald said. “Both teams played a good brand of soccer and had opportunities.  The result was probably fitting for how the game was played.  It was an even match and we probably benefited from the fact that their top scorer was out with an injury that night.”

Theobald wants his Colts to maintain what they’d done so far but continue to build to get ready for postseason play.

“We are just looking to improve from game to game and staying focused on the simple things,” Theobald said. “We try not to put too much emphasis on the results right now, but instead to keep working and staying together.  If we can do those things, then the results will take care of themselves.

“The only big goal the guys would like to accomplish is to win a conference title.  We’ve put ourselves in good position to achieve that, but still have some work left with three conference games to go.  Hopefully, we will be playing our best soccer over the next month and be able to compete in our district as well.”