Bulldogs Win at Kickapoo

The Rolla Bulldogs visited Kickapoo Tuesday to face the Lady Chiefs in a rematch of the Sectional Championship game played on the same pitch last May. While that battle game went 115 minutes (4 OT’s) to determine the winner, this game was decided in the 49th minute when Autumn McEachern chased down a diagonal ball from strike partner Kelsey McFarland and turned on it just inside the box, putting it past the keeper into the near corner. The goal, Rolla’s second, was the ultimate game winner although the Lady Bulldogs went on to score two more for the final 4-1 margin.

The Chief’s got out to a strong start in this match, with Paige Puryear and Katy McLain both getting into the box and getting off shots to put early pressure on Rolla. Team captain Afton Weimer scored in the 6th minute on a set play from just outside the area that bounced off a Rolla defender and at her feet. She deftly touched the ball to the corner past the diving goalkeeper and the Lady Chief’s had the lead. Rolla stormed back only four minutes later when a long throw in by Kaitlin Bramel appeared to deflect or otherwise confuse the defense and the match was tied. The game bogged down at this point as both teams appeared to be shaking off early season rust and had difficulty sustaining an attack.

The Bulldog’s solved their problems most effectively in the second half, getting two more goals in the 65th and 70th minute to go with Autumn’s 49th minute strike. The final two goals came after the Chief’s Jessica McCutcheon was taken to the emergency room following an inadvertent knee to the face when she dove to make a save in front of an onrushing Bulldog player. Kelsey McFarland got the Bulldog’s third goal when she got behind the defense and calmly slotted the ball past the goalkeeper on her breakaway. The final goal was scored on a corner kick as captain Sophie Cox got up in between two Chief defenders and nodded the ball in at the far post.

The last report I received on Jessica is that her left eye was swollen shut and she was resting in the emergency room at Cox although she had not been seen yet. A Kickapoo mother had described her earlier in the evening as the toughest player on an indoor HS coed squad last year when she was the only freshman on the team. Get well soon Jess!