When soccer tryouts at St. Louis University High opened in August, coaches Charlie Martel and Charlie Clark had almost no idea what to expect.

The Junior Bills returned only a handful of players who had seen varsity action in 2008, when a senior-dominated SLUH squad lost in penalty kicks to Chaminade in a district title match and finished 25-3.

"We came into this season with a whole lot of question marks,'' said Martel, the head coach. "We knew we had a good bunch of guys to work with and that these guys had really dedicated themselves over the summer.

"Still, as Charlie Clark likes to say, it's not real pretty sometimes, but this group somehow gets the result."

Despite a few bumps along the way, the Junior Billikens (20-6-1) are in position to compete for the Class 3 championship this weekend at Anheuser-Busch Center in Fenton. SLUH will take on Park Hill (25-5) of Kansas City at 7 tonight, while CBC (24-4-3) squares off with Columbia Hickman (14-8-2) at 5 p.m.

The Class 3 title match is scheduled for Saturday at 6 p.m.

"We put a lot of emphasis on expectations,'' Martel said. "Because of the tradition of success here, the bar is set pretty high, and I think our players respect that and they're motivated by that. This group has been one of the most enjoyable I've ever coached; these guys know when it's time to have fun and when it's time to get to work."

SLUH, which has come on strong to win nine of its last 11 matches, is led by its lone returning starter, junior midfielder Richie Hoffman (seven goals, 11 assists), and its senior captains — midfielders Dominic Hewitt (11 goals) and Joe Bettger, striker Pat Macauley (13 goals) and defender A.J. Johnson.

Martel believes last year's season-ending loss has paid dividends this year.

"Losses like that can really bring a team together," the coach said. "Back in 1972, my junior year, I was part of a really talented team that lost to McCluer in the state semifinals. The next year, we won it all. And pretty much the same thing happened when we finished third in 2002 and won the state title in 2003."

CBC IN FAVORITE'S ROLE

Unlike SLUH, CBC has been one of the Class 3 teams to beat since the start of the season. The senior-led Cadets are solid everywhere and boast one of the deeper squads coach Terry Michler has fielded in recent years.

Drew Duncan, a fourth-year starter in goal, has 23 wins, 18 shutouts and a 0.40 goals-against average. His backfield features A.J. Cochran, Ryan Tinsley, Mike Lee and Matt Clarkin.

The CBC attack is a balanced one that includes seniors Sean Kuster (15 goals, seven assists), Sam Carenza (12 goals), Matt Hutchison (10 goals, nine assists) and Austin Tierney (seven goals, 10 assists), junior Kyle Malle and sophomore Justin Bilyeu.

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