The 14th annual Shootout begins this evening with two games at 5:30 pm followed by two more at 7:30 pm. The later games will feature state-ranked teams and should effectively act as the semifinals for the tournament. Liberty (KC) comes in as the marquee team with a #7 ranking in the state and the top team from the KC area. They will face the #12 Glendale Falcons in a rematch of last years Shootout finals. That game finished at 2-1 for Glendale on Jacob Basecke’s late goal, earning the Falcon’s their first ever Shootout trophy. Liberty is coming in loaded for bear, having lost their last two matches, Tuesday 1-2 against Lee Summit’s North and Thursday 1-3 versus Oak Park.
Liberty has three players considered among the best in the KC area with JD Warman and Eric Heiman up front and Marcus Mallams on defense. JD Warman has 16 goals in 12 games while Eric has 9 goals, accounting for 25 of the 33 goals scored by the 8-3-1 team. Their losses this week came against teams that are ranked #5 and #6 in the Western Region and the earlier loss was to Blue Springs South, ranked #4 in the region. That would appear to indicate how close these teams are since the most recent poll (available at the bottom of this post) was released Wednesday.
Glendale comes in after a tough week, facing off against Kickapoo on Tuesday (a 4-1 win) and Rolla on Thursday (a 2-1 win). Ranked #12 in the state, their lone loss was to Cape Central back on September 23rd, currently ranked #6 just ahead of Liberty. Leading scorers are Andrew Parsons with 15 and Ben Hamilton with 13, or 28 of their teams total of 58 goals in 15 games.
Kickapoo will face off against Moberly. Moberly (12-2-2) is ranked #10 in the state in the Class 2 polls and cannot be underestimated. The Spartan’s played against #11 Jefferson City Jays (Class 3, ranked just ahead of Glendale) on Tuesday and lost 1-2 on a goal in the 82 minute after coming back to tie them in the 36th minute.
The Dark Horse in the mix is Lee’s Summit which comes into the tournament with a 7-5-1 record. Their losses have come to ranked teams, including two recent games against #15 Blue Springs South by the scores of 0-2 and 0-1 and a loss to #15 Rockhurst by the score of 2-4. Top scorers are Chris Buhr with 16 and Michael Brown with 11 of the teams 44 goals. They face a replacement team in an early game Friday and can be expected to be the opponent in the winners bracket at 10am on Saturday, facing either Kickapoo or Moberly.
So there you have it folks. It should an excellent tournament, the Kickapoo Booster Club is well prepared for the event. Given the quality of the competition I’d suggest that you write in Saturday’s 2:30 pm Championship match. Who knows, we might see a rematch between Glendale and Kickapoo 
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Liberty top the Missouri State High School Soccer Coaches Association’s Western Missouri Poll released October 4th.
CLASS 3
1. Liberty
2. Park Hill South
3. Rockhurst
4. Blue Springs South
5. Lee’s Summit North
6. Oak Park
7. Raymore-Peculiar
8. Park Hill
9. North Kansas City
10. Belton
Also receiving votes: Blue Springs, St. Joseph Central, Raytown South, and Lee’s Summit.
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