Coming in as defending state champions, the pressure was on for Cor Jesu Academy soccer this season.
“They felt the pressure,” Cor Jesu head soccer coach Rachel Brcic said. “There was that added pressure of, ‘Can we do this? People want us to do this.’ We just kind of had to work through. Personally, I was freaking out, but didn’t let them see it.”
This did not deter the Chargers, however, who, on top of winning the Class 4 Missouri championship game, finished 22-1 on the season. The team’s only loss was to rival St. Joseph’s Academy on April 23 – a loss Brcic said was “humbling.”
“Even though we had beaten St. Joe earlier in the season, we played them again two weeks later, and we lost. It was a game that St. Joe played extremely well, and we didn’t,” Brcic said. “We didn’t dwell on it too long because, obviously, you have to move on, but (there were) lessons that we learned in that game. It was a reminder that we were still capable of this, we could push through. We could still prove that we were a good team.”
To keep a nearly perfect record, the championship team truly worked together, constantly pushing each other to improve. Though the competitive nature of the group could occasionally border on intense, Brcic “wouldn’t want it any other way.”
“It was really exciting to see that their goal was to be back in the state tournament and prove that that wasn’t a fluke, that we are this good, and we will keep working to be this good. They put in the effort (and) time,” Brcic said.
This mindset propelled the Chargers through the regular and post seasons alike. They swept the other teams in the Class 4 District 1 Tournament, defeating Mehlville, Oakville and Nerinx Hall – 9-1, 8-0 and 3-0, respectively – before heading to the coveted state championship tournament.
Cor Jesu narrowly squeezed by the first round against Ursuline Academy, winning the game 1-0. This set a fire under the Chargers, who defeated Nixa 7-0 in the second round. The final game against St. Dominic saw another Cor Jesu shutout, with the Chargers winning 4-0 to secure the state champion title.
“They were ready and they wanted it. I’m so excited for them. They should be enjoying every single moment of this,” Brcic said.
For Brcic, the win was even more special as she attended and played soccer at Cor Jesu in the mid-2000s. Cor Jesu’s two assistant coaches – Emily Erbs and Nina Bono Murphy – are also alumnae.
“We all went through the soccer program, and I even coached one of my coaches. We have a great camaraderie between the three of us. We’re all very different, but we work together really well, and the girls really respond well to our takes,” Brcic said.
The team, which has grown so strong over the last two years, will look quite different in 2026 as 11 seniors graduated in May. Despite the turnover, Brcic remains optimistic.
“I’m hoping we start strong – we’re going to have a lot of adjustments to work through,” Brcic said. “I hope that by the end of the regular season that we’re on a streak, on a high, and ready to keep pushing for what we’ve built the last few years. We would love to be back in the state championship again, but it’s always challenging. You never know who you’re going to get until the season’s already started.”