After becoming national champs this summer, varsity soccer players Marcus Griggs and Eric McWoods hope to continue their dominance and help Kirkwood to one of its best seasons ever.

McWoods and Griggs, seniors, guided Lou Fusz SC Gold Geerling to the Super Group National Cup XII Championship in Aurora, Colorado July 18-21, where they helped Lou Fusz win its first national title in club history.

“Obviously it feels good to win a national championship,” McWoods said. “There’s nothing else you can ask for, and it’s just an amazing feeling.”

Lou Fusz won the Midwest Regional tournament in Chicago June 28-July 1 before advancing to the National Cup. McWoods and Griggs were motivated by Hope Depriest, a mother of one of the players on Lou Fusz who suffers from a disease called Lupus, in which the immune system attacks normal, healthy tissues.

“Our mindset was to win for her,” McWoods said. “Everything, from the first game to the end of that championship game, was dedicated to her.”

Teammates since the third grade, McWoods and Griggs will be two of eight returning starters for Kirkwood’s varsity squad. Griggs anchors the defense, while McWoods, who recently committed to playing college soccer at Xavier, poses a goal-scoring threat for opposing teams. According to Griggs, the two share a tight bond.

“I love Eric because we have just great team chemistry,” Griggs said.

Lou Fusz head coach David Geerling agrees being teammates on Kirkwood helped create a strong bond between McWoods and Griggs over the course of the summer.

“Even though there are several players defensively and offensively that have contributed to the success of Lou Fusz, [Eric and Marcus] have a certain comfort zone with each other,” Geerling said. “They motivated each other to come up big in certain situations and helped one another be successful on the field.”

McWoods and Griggs, projected to be captains for the Pioneers, are also prepared to play a major leadership role. This season marks their fourth year on KHS varsity.

“Marcus and I have been on the team for a long time,” McWoods said. “Hopefully we can put [Kirkwood] in a position to win.”

Kirkwood soccer finished last year with a 16-5-3 record before losing to Vianney in the Class 3 District 6 finals. With McWoods and Griggs leading the Pioneers, Kirkwood is expected by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch to make a deep playoff run. McWoods believes winning the national championship will only push the Pioneers to play better.

“That national championship is going to help us go far this year,” McWoods said. “I think we’re definitely on the verge of a breakout season.”