Catholic Reaches Sectionals

The Catholic Fightin’ Irish defeated the Ozark Tigers by the score of 4-0 Wednesday in the finals of the Class 1 District 12 playoffs. The win puts them into the Sectional game on Tuesday night for the fourth year in a row. The game was an active affair with both teams forcing the opposing keeper to make a difficult save within the first few minutes. After having played twice before this season, both Catholic wins, the game plan was clear and Ozark worked hard to win the 50/50 balls and to mark tightly on set pieces in the box. Given Tara Bailes proclivity for scoring in the box, even the best laid plans were destined to fail as she found the net in the 18th minute on a cross from Elle Holtman.

Tara got a second one in the 26th minute when she got to a ball that Hannah Renner kept in the offensive end and then sent over the top of the defense. Her half volley from the top of the box dropped under the crossbar and gave the Irish a 2-0 lead at halftime. Ozark came out strong to start the second half but had their hearts broken with Tara got the hat trick. Her third goal came after a pretty 1-2 with Alicia Tonjuk, who has been busy creating good things for the Irish since being restored to the offensive third of the pitch midway through the year. In this case, her ability to hold the ball and then push a diagonal ball into the box allowed Tara to split the defense and get off a shot that eluded the diving keeper.. It came in the 48th minute and created quite a hurdle for the Tigers.

This Tigers squad is senior-laden however and was not prepared for their high school careers to end and continued to battle. As a local coach who is familiar with both squads noted however, Catholic was on their game this evening. Even after freshman striker Anne Delong sealed the victory with her goal in the 58th minute, the entire Ozark bench was on it’s feet urging their teammates on. It was not meant to be however and Catholic moves on.

The Sectional match, scheduled for Tuesday May 23rd in Waynesville, will feature Catholic (16-6) and Union (14-5-1). These two teams played last year with Catholic winning by a 4-0 score.

On a related note, last year’s Quarterfinal opponent Timberland came back to 3-1 over Borgia after giving up a goal in the 4th minute. Sophomore Abbie Albietz headed in the cross from Houk for a 1-1 tie and assisted on the final two goals, much like the way she bedeviled Catholic last year. Timberland (15-7-2), ranked ninth among Post-Dispatch small schools, won its third consecutive district championship and will face either Moberly or Hannibal. Timberland defeated Moberly 6-0 in last year’s sectional game.