It’s because of someone like Hickman goalkeeper Kelsey Mescher that Rock Bridge coaches and players were a little disappointed with their draw for the Class 2 District 10 girls soccer tournament.

After last night’s 1-0 loss to Helias in the final game of the regular season, the Kewpies dropped to 2-16-3. Hickman has not won in more than a month. Its last victory was a 3-1 win at Moberly on March 28.

The losses have not shaken Mescher’s spirit. Her faith in the sixth-seeded Kewpies remains unbowed.

"We’ve lost to every team in our district. People are expecting us to lose," Mescher said. "I think we can be the team that comes out of nowhere.

"If we play the way we played against all the St. Louis teams at Francis Howell North in the St. Dominic Tournament, oh man! … I know we can do it. I know we can be the spoiler team."

When Mescher spoke of the district tournament, there was a burning desire in her eyes and voice. She made such a gripping argument that you’d believe her if she said Hickman was undefeated this season. Even if you’d just watched the game against Helias.

Mescher’s teammates share her sentiments about their game against the third-seeded Bruins at 1 p.m. Saturday in Sedalia.

"I don’t think our teams are that uneven," Hickman senior forward Amanda Sudduth said. "I think it will be a good game, and we really don’t have anything to lose."

Rock Bridge won the first meeting between the two teams 1-0 at their field April 7. The Bruins also defeated the Kewpies 2-0 on April 30 at Hickman Field. Lauren Kelly scored all three goals.

"I think that if we have our heads on and we play the game that we know we can play, it’s gonna be one for the books," Mescher said.

Kelly has said she expects to be marked by Hickman’s Liz Gayer for the duration of Saturday’s game. Even if Hickman Coach Jeff Wallace wanted to do that, it might not be an option. Gayer injured her ankle in the 29th minute last night and left the game. When she returned to the bench midway through the second half, she was on crutches and the ankle was taped.

It also remains to be seen if Hickman can score enough goals to win the game.

Against Helias, Wallace subbed Alexa Fox and Emily Darter in at forward, and the moves generated some offense.

"Alexa, she’s been a goalkeeper all of her life," Wallace said. "So she’s been sort of an inspirational player in that she goes out and she will give you everything she’s got from the standpoint of effort."

Fox created Hickman’s best chance of the game when she sprung Katie LaRue on a breakaway with a nice diagonal ball in the 30th minute. LaRue had all kinds of time, but her shot hit the left post and bounced out. The rebound came to Fox, but a Helias defender blocked her shot.

LaRue had another good scoring chance in the game’s 12th minute when Maggie Pace poked the ball ahead to her. LaRue had just the goalkeeper to beat, but she missed well wide of the goal.

Melissa Young scored the winning goal in the 45th minute for Helias. It was the culmination of a well-orchestrated attack that began when the ball was played in behind the Kewpies’ defense for Lauren Ploch. She ran onto the ball in the right corner and served a low cross into the box. Mescher didn’t have a chance to stop Young’s one-touch finish to the far post.

"There’s still a game to play, so there’s still hope," Wallace said.

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