Tuesday Girls High School Soccer Report

Bolivar Liberators – 4
Marshfield Blue Jays – 0
The Class 2 and Central Ozark Conference foes square off in the Liberators first game of the season. Jodie McFarlen, Sarah Magana, Olivia Buer, and Jordan Halbrooke all scored for the Liberators who improved their record to 1-1 on the young season.

Hillcrest Hornets – 6
Carl Junction Bulldogs – 0
Goals by Alicia Otero (2), Courtney Busby (2), Kamay Freeman and Sarah Rodriguez pushed the Hornets to the win over the small school Bulldogs.

Greenwood Blue Jays – 4
Central Bulldogs -1

West Plains Zizzers – 0
Poplar Bluff Mules – 8

Springfield Catholic – 6
Logan-Rogersville Wildcats – 0
The Wildcats, with a perfect 2-0 lifetime record, play their first ever home game against Catholic. It goes to the Irish however as Shelby Hatz scores three goals and Erin FitzGerald, Emily Ortega, and Bekah Bade scored one each as the Lady Irish win their first ever Central Ozark Conference match

MV-BT Liberty Lady Eagles – 4
Pleasant Hope Pirates – 2
A Class 1 District 6 match up

Nixa Eagles – 1
Parkview Vikings – 0
Nixa’s home opener, also an early D11 match up

Joplin Eagles – 7
Carthage Tigers – 1
The Tigers welcome their Western neighbor and District foe. The Carthage Press has the story: It was almost a one-woman show against Carthage as Joplin’s Kelsey Sanders scored the first three goals of the game and ended with four. In the second half, when Joplin’s Yasmin Ulloa scored, Rogers said, “well, at least No. 13 (Sanders) didn’t score.”

Ozark Tigers – 4
Waynesville Tigers – 0
It was a hat trick for junior forward Alicia Collard (with three goals on three assists from teammate Megan Gunnels) that paved the way to a 4-0 victory for the Ozark Lady Tigers in the varsity match. Sophomore Jackie Wacha volleyed the fourth goal in on a ball served to the back side of the 6-yard box by Collard.

Neosho Wildcats – 6
Joplin McAuley
– 3
From the Neosho Daily News: The Lady Wildcats, sparked by the scoring barrage of goals by Shelby Murray, defeated Joplin McAuley, 6-3, Tuesday at Dover Hill Soccer Complex in Joplin. Neosho came out and set the tone early in the game, scoring four goals 20 minutes into the contest and that allowed the team to give coach Steve Schnackenberg his first win as the head girls soccer coach.

Melanie White also scored for Neosho while Arielle Santillian had 2 goals and Jae Stephens had a goal and an assist for McAuley. Former Southwest All-Star goalie Scott Bartkoski’s little sister Ashley Bartkoski earned the win in goal for the Wildcats.

St James Tigers - 2
Laquey Hornets – 1
Dave Roberts offers an excellent piece on the Class 1 programs early season test: In the district tournament championship game last season the St. James and Laquey squads battled to a near-standoff. The game was tied after regulation and, after two overtimes, the contest was still tied and went into shootouts. Finally, St. James edged Laquey in the shootout to capture its second consecutive district title.
The Laquey Lady Hornets return the major portion of that ‘08 squad this spring and they came to the St. James Tuesday for a rematch.
As expected the two teams again locked up in a tight one. As it turned out all the scoring came in the first half, and sophomore forward Amanda White ended up scoring the game-winner on a direct kick with just seconds left in the first half.

Bolivar’s Jody McFarlen Signs With Missouri State Bears

Jody McFarlen signs NCAA commitment papers with Missouri State Bears

Jody McFarlen signs NCAA commitment papers with Missouri State Bears

Missouri State women’s soccer coach Rob Brewer announced the addition of nine commitments to the 2009 squad Wednesday. Grace Cross, Katelyn Frederickson, Becky Handley, Claire Hulcer, Megan Jaskowiak, Jody McFarlen, Chelsea Voet, Rachel Weimer and Nia Williams have committed to the Bears and will be eligible to compete in the 2009 season.

Jody McFarlen • M • Bolivar, Mo. • Bolivar HS
McFarlen spent her freshman and sophomore seasons as a starter in the midfield for Bolivar High before electing not to play for the Liberators as a junior in favor of playing for a boys club team. McFarlen has qualified for state meets in tennis and track during her high school career. Her father, Randy, played minor league baseball in the Milwaukee Brewers organization.

Grace Cross • F/M • Lee’s Summit, Mo. • Lee’s Summit North HS
Cross will join older sister Christine on the MSU roster in 2009 after enjoying a stellar four year career at Lee’s Summit North High for coach Tim Richardson. A two-time all-state honoree before missing her junior year due to injury, Cross’s teams won conference and district titles her freshman and sophomore seasons, finishing fourth in state during her sophomore campaign and combining to go 39-6-2 overall and 23-0-1 in conference play over those two seasons.

Katelyn Frederickson • F/M • St. Louis, Mo. • Nerinx Hall HS
Frederickson begins her senior season as a two-year starter for a Nerinx Hall team that has accumulated 42 victories against just six defeats with her in the lineup. The 5-6 forward/midfielder has earned all-state, all-metro and all-conference in each of the previous two seasons.

Becky Handley • F • Wildwood, Mo. • St. Joseph’s Academy
Handley is a 5-6 forward who enters her senior season with 36 goals (including nine game winners), 13 assists and 85 total points to her credit through three seasons of prep soccer. Handley’s teams have gone a combined 61-11-3 the last three seasons and have finished no worse than third in the state tournament during her career. Handley has been an all-conference pick in each of her three seasons as a prep and earned all-state and all-conference honors the last two years.

Claire Hulcer • D • Ballwin, Mo. • St. Joseph’s Academy
Hulcer enters her senior season at St. Joseph’s Academy as a three-year starter for a team that has claimed district and conference championships each of her previous three seasons. The 5-7 defender was an all-conference selection as a sophomore and a junior, while her team has combined to go 61-11-3 in her three previous seasons and has finished no worse than third in the state tournament during her career.

Megan Jaskowiak • M/F • Belleville, Ill. • Althoff Catholic HS
Jaskowiak enters her senior season as a team captain for an Althoff Catholic squad that is coming off a runner-up finish at the state tournament in 2008. The 5-7 midfielder/forward was an all-state and all-area choice as a junior, while earning all-area and all-conference honors her first two seasons.

Chelsea Voet • GK • Omaha, Neb. • Millard North HS
Voet enters her senior season at Millard North High as a two-year starter with 25 shutouts to her credit in 39 games. As a junior, she led the state of Nebraska with a 0.37 goals against average while helping the Mustangs to an 18-1 record and state championship. She earned second-team all-state honors last season and honorable mention accolades as a sophomore in 2007. That season, Voet had 135 saves and a 0.75 GAA while her team made it to the state semifinals.

Rachel Weimer • F • Bonner Springs, Kan. • St. James Academy
Weimer is a four-year starter at forward for St. James Academy in Lenexa, Kan., where she has amassed 77 goals and 48 assists through her first three seasons to become the school’s all-time leader in both categories. Last season, St. James won a state championship with a 17-3-1 record. Weimer has been named all-state, all-metro and all-county each of the last two seasons.

Nia Williams • D • Roeland Park, Kan. • St. James Academy
Williams enters her senior season as a starting defender for a fourth year for St. James Academy in Lenexa, Kan. She was honored as the conference defensive player of the year for the state champions last season, as well as earning all-state, all-metro and all-county honors. Williams was all-state and all-conference as a junior as well, and earned her first of three consecutive team MVP awards as a freshman in 2006.

Monday Girls High School Soccer Report

Willard Tigers – 0
Hillcrest Hornets – 1
District 12 opponents, the Hornets draw the first line in the sand. Elizabeth Durnall gets the game winner midway through the second half via a PK. Hornets first win of the season.

Springfield Catholic – 10
Carl Junction Bulldogs – 0
The Bulldogs, after losing in PK’s to Carthage in their 1st ever game, run up against the powerhouse Irish.

Nixa Eagles – 8
Central Bulldogs – 1
The Bulldogs open their season at home and run into a juggernaut. Nixa goals by Hannah Barber, Kelsey Haist (2), Jo Pavlowsky, Rachel Murphy (2), Kelsey Bartell, and Alli Schleismann. Kelsey Bartell and Jo Pavlowsky had 2 assists each with Ashlyn Robillard tallying one. Central’s goal was scored by Marika Starks and assisted by Mariah Hicks.

Waynesville Tigers – 10
Branson Pirates - 0
The Pirates get their first taste of an established regional team and the game ends early as a result. The Waynesville Daily Guide offers this: A pair of freshman–Sarah Dowling and Jesslyn Clark–combined for half of the goals in the contest. Dowling had a hat trick with three goals and Clark scored two. Senior Erica Combs also scored three goals, also recording five assists.

Ozark Tigers – 4
Bolivar Liberators – 1
The Liberators open their season at Ozark in windy and speedy conditions on the Tigers artificial surface. After keeping it close in the 1st half with the win, tying 1-1 on Jonna Welch’s first goal of the season, the Liberators gave up 3 in the 2nd half to fall to the home team. Sophomore Mollie Killion got the game-winner in the 52nd minute of play while junior forward Alicia Collard and junior Megan Jenisch completed the scoring.

Camdenton Lakers -
Stover -

Lebanon Yellowjackets – 7
Neosho Wildcats – 0
The Wildcats travel up I-44 to open their season and run into a hot Yellowjackets squad. Goals by Hannah Winkel (2), Janel Glidden (2), Michelle Lindesmith, Chelsea Lefors, Abby Zimmerman

This Week In Ozarks Soccer

2010 WC LogoThe US Men’s team continues their pursuit of a place in World Cup 2010, facing off against Trinidad and Tobago in Nashville on Wednesday, April 1st. The game is being broadcast on ESPN2 at 6:30 pm. I’ll be at Quincy Magoo’s at 900 E Battlefield for the game, feel free to come out and join me. Hopefully the result, and the quality of the game, will be better than what was exhibited Saturday in El Salvador.

I’m still in St Louis, meeting with a new client Monday. Tuesday I’ll be lobbying in Jefferson City, in my role as President of the Missouri Film Alliance of Springfield, promoting the business generation that tax credits offer our local businesses. If you’re a fan of independent films, or a business interested in learning about how to use video in sales and marketing, check out the website I’ve created and sign up for our newsletter.

I may have an opportunity to cover the Jeff City Jays game on Tuesday, as they host the Camdenton Lakers. I’m hearing some very positive things about the Jays, who are now part of District 10 with Camdenton, Rolla and Lebanon. Based upon early results, that District is beginning to look like a real dogfight which will make this a key early match up.

Thursday marks the start of the Christian County Tournament, jointly hosted by Ozark and Nixa High School. A very large slate of games through Saturday day that will get my attention. I’ll have more details later this week and there will be game reports, photos and video interviews to offer.

Coca-Cola Cup Logo Friday will bring the 4th anniversary of this website and I’ll be celebrating by covering the Kickapoo vs Catholic game, the first game covered by SGFsoccer.com and a regular stop for many fans in the region due to it’s competitive nature. The Greenwood Blue Jays will be hosting their Classic on Saturday, which includes Carthage and two other teams I’m still trying to identify. More on that to come.

Time to also gear up and be kind to the soccer tourists who will be visiting Springfield. Lake Country Soccer is hosting the 9th Annual Coca-Cola/Dr Pepper Cup at the facilities on the Eastside and we’ll have a large crowd in town. If you have a team participating (Boys U9 up to U18, and girls U9 up to U14) let me know the schedules so I can try and make it out for a game or two. Hopefully the weather will cooperate better than it did here in St Louis where I’m aware of teams who didn’t play a single game.

drury-logo-miniAh, and for the fan of the college game, the Drury Panthers will be playing several games on Saturday at Harrison Stadium. The Women have the Central Missouri State Mules and the Missouri S&T Miner’s visiting for a pair of games while the men will be hosting Mid-America Nazarene which includes Matthew Gow (Lebanon/Springfield Demize). There will be a second team announced as well.

The Missouri State Lady Bears are traveling this week for a pair of games at Oklahoma State while the Men will be in St Louis to take on the SLU Billikens. Both teams are playing on Saturday.

Lady Pirates Win Their First Game

Good news from Conway Arkansas where the Branson Pirates were participating in the Wampus Cat Invitational. I’ll let Coach Brenner offer the play-by-play:

Logan-Rogersville Wildcats Win OT Thriller at Branson PiratesThe Lady Pirates broke through in the second match of the inaugural season winning 3-1 over Van Buren, Arkansas. Playing in the opening round of the Wampus Cat Invitational in Conway, AR the Lady Pirates scored early and controlled play throughout the match. Neva Raschel, #13, scored her team-leading 4th goal 2 minutes into the match and then assisted on the eventual game winner 4 minutes later. Her cross in the 7th minute found Emily Joplin, #10, open in front of the goal and the senior captain made the most of the opportunity. That ended the first half scoring but not the dominate play. Coming out of half time the Pirates gave up a goal in the 44th minute after the defense allowed a Van Buren forward to stand in the area unmarked. That woke the Pirate offense and they moved the ball well feeding a ball through to Raschel in the 50th minute for the final tally. The Ladies have little time to celebrate with two matches tomorrow (vs host Conway and a team from Oklahoma). “I am very proud of these ladies, everyone had a part in this win and they continue to improve everyday.”

The second day of the Wampus Cat Invitational was not as kind to the Lady Pirates. Playing in the cold they fell to the host Conway 0-4 in their first match. The second match against PC North from Oklahoma was just as hard as the Lady Pirates lost 1-7. There were several bright spots in the young season as Kate Fulton slotted home a loose ball mid way through the second half against PC North to tally her second goal of the season. What we saw this weekend really will help us prepare to play the other COC big schools and gave us valuable insight into what it will take to be successful this season. Although the ladies were cold by the end of the day they were upbeat and came away with a new respect for themselves as soccer players. The future of Branson soccer is definitely brighter after these three matches.

Rolla Central Federal Tournament Results

    Friday’s Opening Games

Rolla Bulldogs – 0
Washington – 0

Hickman Kewpies – 2
Catholic Irish – 1
From the Catholic website: The game was a back and forth affair that saw Hickman take a 1-0 lead in the 20th minute when Grace Grigg heaed a free kick high in the air just under the cross bar. Shelby Hatz tied the game for the Irish in the 35th minute when she took a pass from Emily Loethen and made a 50 yard run beating two Kewpie defenders in the process and found the back of the net from 15 yards. The battle raged throughout the second half with both teams having several good opportunities. The game winning goal came in the 58th minute from the Kewpies’ Nicole Drenton on a 15 yard shot just under the bar.

    Saturday’s Games

The first game between Rolla and Catholic was interrupted by lightning and deteriorating field conditions, leading to the cancellation at halftime while the scored was tied 0-0. Games may be rescheduled at a future date.

Rolla Bulldogs –
Catholic Irish –

Hickman Kewpies –
Washington -

Catholic Irish –
Washington -

Rolla Bulldogs -
Hickman Kewpies –

Friday High School Girls Soccer Report

Parkview Vikings – 8
Carthage Tigers – 0
The Vikings opened their season against one of the new programs in the region and picked up where they left off last season. Junior Jessica Maerz scored 5 goals, with an assist, while Kelsey Loderhose scored a pair and Shelby Stewart scored one. Caylin Manary earned the shutout.

Lebanon Yellowjackets – 3
Nixa Eagles – 0
The Yellowjackets followed up their strong effort against Catholic on Thursday with a game against the Eagles. Goals were scored by Callie Beard, Hanna Winkel, and Cassie Wood in the shutout.

Camdenton Lakers – 8
Marshfield Blue Jays – 0
The Lakers brought their own storm front to bear on their small school opponent, with senior forward Stephanie Kirvan scoreing 3 goals in the first half to lead the way. Freshman Kayla Utley began her varsity career with a pair of goals while Latea LaRue scored 1 and had a pair of assists.

Kickapoo Chiefs
Park Hill South
First game against Park Hill South was played, for the most part, in the Chiefs’ defensive end and Kickapoo lost 2-0. Goals by freshmen Abbey Johnson and senior Erin Tatman.

Kickapoo Chiefs – 3
Blue Springs South Jaguars – 1
The Kickapoo Chiefs, playing their second game of the evening, went ahead in the second minute on a goal by newcomer sophomore Marin Gelsheimer that sailed in with the wind from about 35 yards. In the second half Blue Springs tied the game on a goal by freshmen Jordan McNamara and the Chiefs immediately followed that up with a goal after a corner and rebound by Erica Freiert from about 10 yards out. The final score was provided by sophomore Katie Lynn to make it 3-1. Jordan McNamara scored for the Jaguars.

Ozark Tigers
Blue Springs South Jaguars
From the Tigers website: The game winning goal came in the 55th minute when junior midfielder Megan Stodden (pictured above) made a beautiful pass to junior forward Taylor Jordan as she made a run inside the eighteen on the right side of the field. Jordan received the pass on the run, took a couple touches, and placed her shot strongly between the Blue Springs South keeper and the right post to give give Ozark a 1-0 lead

Ozark Tigers – 0
Park Hill South Panthers – 3
According to the Ozark website, the Panthers were skilled, fast, and appeared to be extremely well conditioned. They communicated well, passed the ball well, and as a result of these factors spent the majority of the 80 minutes on the attack.

Weekend Opportunities – World Cup Qualifiers, MLS, Snow?

Sorry, knowing the quality of our weather prognosticators around here I probably shouldn’t even bring up the Winter Storm Watch that flashed across Twitter yesterday afternoon. Any bets there won’t be any in Springfield?

World Cup 2010 logoWhile pondering the weather and it’s impact on your schedule, have you added these quality options?

US Men at El Salvador – Saturday 8pm, ESPN2

Some history lessons from the US MNT blog, including the fact that the last visit to El Salvador in 2004 was only the 2nd win ever in Central America. Here’s the Salvadoran roster and players to watch. The Villanova vs Pitt game should start around 6pm so the conflicts will be limited by then.

KC Wizards Logo KC Wizards vs Colorado Rapids – Saturday 8:30 pm, Direct Kick

The KC Wizards are in Colorado on Saturday for a game against the Rapids. The Wizards may be without Arnaud and Wolff for the game. The Wizards haven’t won in Denver since June 9, 2004, a span of five league matches. The Rapid’s should have Matt Pickens (Missouri State Bears) in net yet again.

Schedule Changes – Ozark & Kickapoo

From the Ozark Tiger soccer website:

The game against Blue Springs South (previously scheduled for Saturday, March 28th, at 11:00 am) has been moved up to Friday afternoon, March 27th, at 3:30 pm. The game against Park Hill South is still scheduled to begin at approximately 6:00 pm tonight, following the conclusion of the Blue Springs South game. Both games will be played in the stadium at Ozark High School.

UPDATE BELOW – Nothing on the Kickapoo website yet about a change but their game against Blue Springs South is scheduled for tonight at 6pm. I have not heard if their game Saturday morning against Park Hill South is being moved to today or not. UPDATE – We are playing Park Hill South at 3:45 @ Kickapoo and Blue Springs South at 6:45-7 @ Kickapoo.

By the way, Blue Springs South won their opening match:
BLUE SPRINGS SOUTH 4, ST. JOSEPH CENTRAL 0: Two goals each from Megan Codilla and Kelly Voigt helped host Blue Springs South start the season with a Suburban Big Seven win.
“I was pleased with the girls tonight,” South coach Todd Findley said. “They played well as a team with aggressive, attacking soccer. We created tons of chances but were ineffective at finishing our chances. We’re a young team, and those finishes will come.”

So did Park Hill South, winning 4-2 over Truman.

Thursday High School Girls Soccer Report

For those of you sneaking peeks during commercials of the Mizzou game, sorry for the lack of photos. Flickr got 98% done and stalled, so I left my office. This is getting updated at Maria’s with a traditional margarita and the Mizzou game to keep me company – go Memphis (says the UMR grad). I’ll try and get the photos up tomorrow before I leave for the weekend (no, I’m not afraid of snow, I’m carousing in STL this weekend with a friend from Chicago who’s flying in. Not quite Spring Break but some R&R before the season gets into full swing)

Marshfield Jays Win at Hillcrest Hornets
Marshfield Blue Jays – 4
Hillcrest Hornets – 0
They weren’t carousing on the pitch at Hillcrest tonight but there was plenty of energy to keep the crowd entertained. The first half was like a basketball game as play went back and forth, neither team able to establish themselves 20 minutes in when the Hornet’s 4 year starter in goal, Jillian Gerkey, was forced to put a shot by Alex Cantrell (on left in photo) up and off the crossbar. The Jays continued to pressure and got what proved to be the game-winner in the 24th minute when #18, Danica Norstrom, ran into the right corner to pick up a loose ball. Her square ball, across the face of the goal at the top of the 6 yard box, found #11 on the back post where she reliably buried the ball into the back of the net.

The Jays would get 3 more goals from 3 different players, including Alex Cantrell’s first goal of the season 4 minutes into the second half (Alex was Marshfield’s top scorer last year as a freshman). Alex buried a ball on the Jay’s 3rd opportunity after Gerkey made two saves but didn’t get any help from her defense. In the 50th, #18 scored a very pretty goal when she made a strong run to the back post on a direct kick by #16, Ashley Honeycutt, that was sent to the back post from the left touchline 35 yards out. The final goal was scored by Honeycutt on a scramble off a corner kick at the back post.

The Jay’s look positioned to compete in District 5, with a nice combination of talent. Alex Cantrell (#22) appears to have free rein to go wherever she fells needed on the pitch from her midfield position, there are a pair of speedy wingers who can chase down balls in the corners and Honeycutt (#16) is a smart, fast sweeper who kept the goalkeeper from needing to make many plays this evening.

The Hornet’s, missing half a dozen players due to Spring Break, should compete this season with Carthage, Central and Willard in the district. Erin Boschen, a playmaker and favorite of mine, is out until late in the season due to injury but it’s a large and energetic group that came out this season, led by #29 Danielle at sweeper and #15 Alicia Ortero at forward. I’ll be out again to watch them surprise some teams.

DSC_4820
Springfield Catholic – 3
Lebanon Yellowjackets – 1
Tonights game at Catholic brought out the aficionados tonight, interested in seeing what these two teams are going to be capable of this season. The answer was a positive one for both squads, despite the score. In a game that was fought in the midfield in the first half, the second half saw things open up as rain and early season conditioning (or the lack thereof) changed the flow of the game. Catholic scored first, in the 55th when following a corner kick the Irish were able to keep the ball in the offensive end until Erin Fitzgerald pounced on a ball outside the six yard box and slipped it past the keeper (pictured).

In the 64th, Catholic’s field leader Natalie Smid picked up a loose ball in the defensive end and after a 20 yard run slipped a ball into the path of Emily Ortega who was making a run down the left side. Two touches took her just inside the box and her left footed shot curled to the back post, well beyond the reach of the keeper. It was a beauty.

The Yellowjackets are not to me underestimated this season as they reminded me tonight. They came right back down and after earning a corner kick, senior Janel Glidden buried Hannah Winkel’s ball to bring Lebanon back within one. I’ll have to dig into the roster further, once Coach get’s it to me, but unless Jeff City steps up I would expect that Lebanon and Rolla will renew acquaintances in the District final this year.

Catholic was not done, they never are, and tonight was no different. The final goal was scored by #22 Natalie Smid in the 73rd minute as she buried a ball from inside the 6 yard box, after the Irish once again kept a corner kick down inside the Yellowjackets box. It was only a question of time as she had half a dozen excellent opportunities tonight, with left and right footed shots that were just wide this evening. Kids, if you want to learn what it means to run a team come out and keep an eye on #22 in green.

Nixa Eagles – 8
West Plains Zizzers – 0
At the half only 2-0. 7 different players scored… Rachel Murphy had 2 goals, Jo Pavlowsky, Courtney Frerichs, Kelsey Bartell, Vicki Rische, Ashlyn Robillard, and Tatum Mangum had 1 apiece. Kristin Miller got the shutout.

Logan-Rogersville Wildcats at Carthage Tigers, Inaugural Game For Both TeamsCarthage Tigers – 2 (PK’s)
Carl Junction Bulldogs – 1
Carthage scored first on a goal by Jessica Diaz. Carl junction scored near the end of the second half. Game ended 1-1 and the teams went two overtime periods without any scoring. Jessica’s pictured in white against Logan-Rogersville earlier this week.

Carthage get’s their first win from the penalty spot against their neighbor and one of the areas other new programs, converting their 2nd and 4th shots while CJ converted on their first PK. Categorized under History!

Laquey Hornets – 6
Richland Bears – 1
Junior Emily Murray scored three goals for the Lady Hornets (now 1-1) while senior Shelbee Cowart, freshman Blair Cristoffer and Capi Burnat added one apiece. Richland’s Couri Braithwait scored the lone Lady Bear goal.