June 30, 2026
WPSL 2026, Lou Fusz Athletic (photo by Matt Wright)
By Nichole Singleton, WPSL Communications
Reaching for more.
After capping off its best regular season result in WPSL competition last year with the Gateway Division title, Lou Fusz Athletic fell in the Midwest Conference championship, ending hopes for its first-time playoff berth in Oklahoma City and giving the team the hunger for more.
“Winning our first division title last season and getting the opportunity to play in the conference championship game gave us a taste of what the postseason possibilities are in WPSL, and set a new bar for what we want to accomplish each season going forward,” Jeff Tottleben, Lou Fusz Athletic general manager and head coach, said.
The 2025 season was a turning point for Lou Fusz Athletic, and the spark ignited from winning its first division title has fueled the team’s drive this season. After finishing fourth and fifth in the standings in its first two WPSL seasons, the St. Louis-based side has gone unbeaten in its last 16 regular-season games, winning 13. Now with back-to-back division titles and a second shot at the Midwest Conference crown, Lou Fusz is more committed than ever. Even with building from the momentum of last season’s success and winning the division again, returning to the conference championship for a second time was no easy feat for Tottleben.
“Our Gateway Division has been very competitive the last two seasons with many close matches that could have gone either way, so being able to get through that group to the conference championship game says a lot about how far we have come from our first two years in the league,” Tottleben said.
Lou Fusz finished the regular season with six wins and two draws while recording five shutouts and outscoring opponents 23 to three. Conceding just three goals in eight games is the team’s best defensive record since joining the WPSL in 2023, and two less than the five goals it conceded during last season’s division title run. The depth in the Lou Fusz backline and the rotation of goalkeepers developed from its youth club can be attributed to the team becoming such a difficult opponent to score against.
Offensively, Lou Fusz has become equally stronger with its roster depth overall attributing to the consistency on-field, averaging 2.88 goals per game this regular season.
“We have a good core group that returned from last year and the key players have learned a lot about what it takes to win close games, especially on the road,” Tottleben said. “The collective mentality is stronger and more connected from the past two seasons and the key players are more committed to playing in as many games as possible.”
Lou Fusz Athletic is guaranteed at least one more game this season. The Midwest Conference championship on Thursday where it will host Heartland Division champions, Kansas City Current II. Looking to rewrite the script from last season’s conference championship, Lou Fusz will play for a spot in the Central Region Playoffs on July 11 and 12.
“If we were to advance, it creates another tremendous experience and opportunity for our program [and] another chance to learn what's required to make a deep playoff run in WPSL,” Tottleben said. “Both the Gateway and the Heartland Division have several very strong teams, so winning the Midwest Conference title says a lot about the quality of whoever advances from the conference championship match.”
